Breast Cancer and The People We Carry With Us
Please welcome my cousin, Emily Storch Cohen, as she shares with us who she carries in this fight against breast cancer.
Breast Cancer and The People We Carry With Us
Throughout our lives, we have certain people with us. At times, those people are literally with us. At times, those people are with us figuratively. These shift with our changing roles in life including location changes, career changes, and other life changes.
As a wife, I carry my husband, Alan, with me and as a stepmother, I carry my stepdaughter with me. As a mother, I literally carried my sons with me for 9 months. I feel so fortunate to have been able to experience that joy. The months of physical and emotional changes and the beauty of the day each of them was born is carried with me every day. However, now that they are 14 and 11, they are carried with me figuratively. Gone are the days when I was able to pick them up and carry them in my arms!
As a mother, wife, sister, daughter, niece, granddaughter, and teacher, I can only hope that I am carried with people in my life, just as I carry them with me.
The people in my life each play an important role. This is true whether they are living or have passed away, whether they are in my immediate geographic area, or live far away. I go to these people when I need a laugh when I need to talk, or sometimes when I need to draw some strength from them. Sometimes, I “pick them up” in the form of a phone call, an e-mail, a text message, or a song. Sometimes it is as I drive somewhere and see something that reminds me of that person.
On Sunday, May 11th, I walked in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure with the team “Spunky’s Hope,” led by captain Jodi Krawitz, a 4-year breast cancer survivor. The last time I participated in this event was 10 years ago when my sons were 1 and 4 years old.
I joined Jodi’s team to support her in this fight against this terrible disease, which impacts all too many people.
She is truly an inspiration in her spirit, her drive, and her determination. She is a successful fundraiser, but that’s not all she does as a team captain and survivor. Jodi seeks to educate those around her with information about preventive care and body health.
But that’s not the only reason I joined this team.
Both of my grandmothers had breast cancer.
It was relatively minor for my maternal grandmother, who successfully combated this disease. My paternal grandmother, my Nana, was also successful in her fight for many years. She was a 19-year survivor, who ultimately succumbed to breast cancer in May of 2001. Over the course of those 19 years, her fight never weakened, and her “joie de vivre” was never diminished.
When I started fundraising for Spunky’s Hope on April 23, 2014, I decided that I would carry people with me.
I carried my family with me, I carried people with me who donated, and I carried people who this disease touched.
As I walked up the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia at 6:30 am on race day, proudly wearing my race bib with all those names on it, I felt even stronger, knowing they were with me. It was a perfect, beautiful, peaceful morning, made even better having that race bib close to my heart.
It was emotional watching the survivors march down the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. United together by something negative, yet able to generate so much positivity with their presence in front of us.
We walked the 5K course as a team, talking and smiling. We were cheered on at various points along the course, including at the finish line as our team name was announced!
Thank you to Alan, Matt, Dan, and Keri. Thank you to Mom, Dad, Aunt Audrey, and Nana. Additional thanks to Butch, Maria, Olga, Sheree, Judy, and Larry. Joan, Sierra, Erik, Gina, and Steve also deserve thanks. As does Michele, Ruth, Howie, Stef, and Sarah. Thank you to Scott, Enid, Phyllis, Dana and Ross. Thank you to Lillian, Sharon, Alan, Carole, Andy, and Sandee. Finally, thank you to Lisa, Patrick, Barbara, Shelly, Carolyn, Gary, and Mike.
You were all with me on Mother’s Day.
Who do you carry with you?
4 thoughts on “Breast Cancer and The People We Carry With Us”
Emily, thank you for starting this blog, supporting me and Team Spunky’s Hope and all of your efforts in fundraising and awareness.
I’m sorry to hear about your grandmothers’ breast cancer battles. All the best to your health.
Gwenn, thank you. I will certainly make sure that Emily receives your kind message.
Thank you, Gwenn, for your kind words.