Islanders race, rally against breast cancer in popular events.
Facing her first checkup after completing breast cancer treatment, Su Reith told her husband she’d be fine by herself.
Unannounced, her son appeared at the ferry dock; only then did she realize how frightened she was.
“I was very touched,” Reith said. “It was so endearing to have him. (He said), ‘I just didn’t want you to be alone.’”
No one walks alone in the Race for the Cure, which benefits the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. “Thrivers” like Reith and Deb Maier, and the Race for the Cure and other fund-raisers, draw out compassion and support from family, friends and neighbors.
The American Cancer Society estimates that 215,990 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year in the U.S. – 4,040 in Washington state – with 40,110 succumbing to the disease.
Last year, the Race for the Cure raised $1.1 million with 25 percent going to research and 75 percent to local organizations providing education and treatment support services for underserved women.
Ellen Nakata, a breast cancer survivor, and her late husband Don Nakata, former president of Town & Country Market, started “Team Town & Country” in 1995 for the race.
Nakata invited Kay Jensen’s Team Bainbridge to join forces; the team grew to 1,041 members by 2001 and raised $26,000.
Mary Kay Talbot, this year’s chair for the Puget Sound affiliate of the Komen Foundation, says for several years Team T&C was the largest at the Seattle race, but that the team impact extends to offshoots it has inspired.
In 2000, the Puget Sound affiliate founded the Ellen and Don Nakata Community Hero Award for outstanding contribution to the Race for the Cure.
“The Nakatas have been longtime sponsors. They’re just very, very supportive of our efforts, and plus, they’re just really nice people,” Talbot said.
Nakata credits Team T&C’s successes to volunteers like Jensen, Lilly Melendez, and raffle quilt-maker Susan Calhoun.
“I feel so blessed,” she said. “Sometimes having cancer has all these positives that come out of it. These people are all my sisters.”
The team skipped 2002, but came back in 2003 by demand.
“We don’t emphasize the money,” Nakata said. “We want everyone to come first – just for a little walk visiting with people.
“We’ve got to do something. If everyone does a little bit, we can accomplish a lot.”
This weekend is the last for team sign-ups, although individual registrations online run up to race day. Jensen said this year’s response is lower than previous years, as “people are branching off to their own teams, which is great. There’s something fun about forming their own teams.”
Personal race
The Race for the Cure took on a personal meaning when Reith was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago at age 57.
A routine mammogram detected the small growth early enough that she did not need chemotherapy, just surgery and radiation treatment.
Wrapped in a cocoon of caring people during her treatment, it was only after that feelings of vulnerability surfaced. “It’s almost like a safety net is gone. Until I got the confidence that it won’t return and I will survive.”
Just last month, Reith graduated from twice-a-month to once-a-year checkups with her oncologist.
“Yay, team! That’s a big one,” said Reith, voice thick with emotion. “(It’s) a hurdle to have behind you. It feels good to have that one over with.”
Reith has helped sign up people for Team Town & Country every year, but also provide a sympathetic ear. Strangers would tell her, “I was diagnosed last year” or “My sister just died from breast cancer.”
“For some reason they feel a connection,” Reith said, “maybe it’s because we’re both sharing the burden.”
“I think the education part and awareness is the really important thing that we do – and the listening of course.”
Rallying back
Two days before the Race for the Cure is the third annual Rally for the Cure at the Wing Point Golf and Country Club on June 4, also to benefit the Komen Foundation.
The event features golf, tennis and an auction (see sidebar).
Organizers bring their own tales of inspiration.
Deb Maier, co-chair for this year’s Rally, volunteered last year with marketing and fund raising; when she was diagnosed with breast cancer during planning, she became the keynote speaker, too.
A manager at Boeing, Maier was 48 when she was diagnosed. Initially thought contained, the cancer became invasive, leading to a complete mastectomy of her right breast. The diagnosis provoked an emotional journey.
“The first week I was devastated and scared to death,” she said. “(I thought), ‘will I have grandchildren?’”
She was astonished that she was “so immediately surrounded by friends and people to help me. People I thought barely knew me sent cards and letters.”
A ferry-riding friend who had had breast cancer the previous year provided a book on surviving the disease; two months ago, Maier paid forward the favor to another friend who was diagnosed, bringing book and comfort.
A nodding-acquaintance who had had breast cancer six months earlier also “jumped to my rescue,” Maier recalled. Then, when the same neighbor’s husband died, “I opened my eyes to see there was something I could do to help her, but I previously wouldn’t have reached out.”
“(When you’re diagnosed) you’re desperate to talk to somebody else who has fought the battle,” Maier said. “I learned the value of being there for other people.”
With work, husband and kids, Maier said she hadn’t previously taken time to nurture friendships, and didn’t realize that “little things can truly make a much bigger difference than I thought before.”
She had also been hesitant to help because the situation was awkward or she didn’t know the person well.
“I’ve lived here just five years in a social cocoon, figuring that if it’s not my best friend it’s not my issue. Thank God that paradigm has been shattered,” she said.
“In hindsight, (breast cancer) was (more) a journey of growth than trial. I got so much more out of it than I lost.”
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Racing, rallying
Race for the Cure – June 6 at Seahawks Stadium in Seattle. Team sign-ups run through May 8 at Town & Country. Individuals can register online at www.komenseattle.org through June 5.
Race day activities: registration from 6:30 a.m., 1K kids race 7:30 a.m., one mile co-ed walk 7:45 a.m., 5K women’s only run 8:05 a.m., 5K wheelchair race 8:34 a.m., 5K co-ed run 8:35 a.m., 5K co-ed walk 8:50 a.m., survivors parade and awards ceremony 10:15 a.m. Tickets $25 for adults (through June 5, and $30 on race day), $15 for children 6-12, and children under 5 free.
Rally for the Cure – June 4 at the Wing Point Golf and Country Club on Bainbridge Island. Activities (all include cocktail party/silent auction): women’s 18-hole golf tournament, $100, includes green fees, cart and lunch; women’s doubles tennis tournament, $75, including lunch, tennis balls and beverages; cocktail party/silent auction only for $30; Gourmet dinner and live auction, $100. Registration: 780-2557.
