Avon 39: The Walk to End Breast Cancer this Weekend! June 4th-5th

1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime (nationalbreastcancer.org). Shocked yet? How about according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, over 230,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer and over 40,000 will die. This is a common disease that is the most common cancer for women and it's the 2nd leading cause of death for women (nationalbreastcancer.org). It's time to make a stand against this killer and Avon is one of the companies making a stance!

Avon 39 is the walk to end breast cancer! It is a 2 days walk of 39 miles in major cities throughout our country such as Chicago, Houston, Boston, San Francisco, New York and more. Avon 39 has been around since 2003 and raised over $550,000,000 to help end breast cancer once and for all. For more information on how to get up and become a walker click here!!

There are other ways one can help too! You can donate directly to Avon 39 Here, or if you are a shopaholic, you can shop the Avon 39 Reebok store and Reebok will donate a minimum of $300,000 up to $750,000 to Avon 39!!

Here is a story of Tari Tripp, breast cancer survivor:

Tari has been with Avon for 30 years and participating in the walks to fight breast cancer for 11.  After her first few walks, in 2009, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She thought it was an early diagnosis, but when they did the surgery, she found out it was at stage 3.  She went through all her treatment, got a mastectomy, and felt supported by the Avon Foundation though it all. 

Rather than feeling defeated, she was feeling blessed that it opened her eyes to what people can do, how supportive and encouraging they can be.  And blessed to see what Avon was supporting – research to make more treatments when ones she was using stopped working for her.

Then in 2013, she was diagnosed with Stage 4.  The cancer had spread to her lungs and brain.  Continually positive, she knew it was just another page to turn, she had always been healthy throughout her treatments in the past.  She started treatment again and was invigorated.  It made her look at all the important things.  Tari feels she is one of the fortunate ones that hasn’t been downed with sickness from treating her cancer.  Though she has taken some time off, she still works full time.  Since fighting breast cancer is one of Avon’s major causes, they have been extremely supportive, making it easy for her to continue to work on a full time basis. 

Her son was four when she was diagnosed.  Now he is ten.  When she had to go for full brain radiation she lost her hair.  Tari would let her son pick out what she would wear on her head – a wig, a scarf.  She tried to make it as lighthearted as she could for him.  Her son doesn’t see her cancer as a disease, more that her treatments are just a part of their lives.  He is part of her motivation to stay positive.

Tari believes that there will be a cure for breast cancer.

If we all work together, anything is possible.