Avon Breast Cancer – San Francisco

On the 22 October 2006, while bike riding through Golden Gate Park, I witnessed the very tail end of the American Cancer Society’s – “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” – Breast Cancer Walk. And, from my involvement with the AIDS LifeCycle Charity Events, I remembered: the sense of completion, the feeling of exhaustion, the questions of “where do I go from here,” and the thoughts of “how to explain what one has experience physically, and emotionally” after completing a charity event. . . .

And most importantly, I remembered the importance of letting participants of charity events know that:

1. You understand and support what they are doing.
2. They are not alone.

So today, at 8:00am, along with the Sports Basement Employees, friends, new friends, strangers and “then some,” I served coffee, bagels, Gatorade, sweets, cheers & love to the participants of the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer – San Francisco.

Sports Basement welcomes Avon Breast Cancer Walk

“Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, except for nonmelanoma skin cancers. The chance of developing invasive breast cancer at some time in a woman’s life is about 1 in 8 (13% of women). It is estimated that in 2007 about 178,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among women in the United States. At this time there are slightly over 2 million breast cancer survivors in the United States. Women living in North America have the highest rate of breast cancer in the world.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer. The chance that breast cancer will be responsible for a woman’s death is about 1 in 33 (3%). In 2007, about 40,460 women and 450 men will die from breast cancer in the United States. Death rates from breast cancer continue to decline, with larger decreases in women younger than 50. These decreases are believed to be the result of earlier detection through screening and increased awareness, as well as improved treatment.” – American Cancer Society

Being safely escorted by the San Jose Police Department, women & men of all shapes & sizes, ages, creeds, and sexual orientations gathered because they know the adage “Good things come to those who wait.” Yet when it comes to breast cancer – when someone in the United States is diagnosed every three minutes – waiting is not an option. Walking is.

So whether one can run, walk, type, sing, cook, answer phones, bike, swim, bowl, drive a car, load a truck, or donate – there’s definitely something one can do to better the world and/or assist a fellow human being.

Wishing the best of all possible worlds,
Iyengar Yoga Teacher, tony