Breast Cancer, My Story By Mayra Cagigas

The Avon Walk For Breast Cancer: Two Day Journey – The Story Continues…..

By Mayra Cagigas

On March of 2010, I registered for the "Santa Barbara 2010 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer". Why did I decide to walk and fundraise?  Because my dear great aunt had been diagnosed with breast cancer.  Her name is Maria Teresa Cagigas and she is 92 years old! Her courage, faith and attitude inspired me to do something about it.

Save the Tetas…Save Second Base…Stop He War On My Rack….these were some of the signs I noticed along the 39.3 mile walk for "Avon Breast Cancer Walk".  This reminded me of being a child – to be able to bring laughter despite fighting for something so sacred.    

Tia Mariate (I call her) has been through a lot; she is a Mexican-American mother of 8 who lost her husband when her youngest daughters were 5 years old and she never remarried!  She worked hard all her life to provide a good life to her children.  Thanks to God's grace and mercy, not only did she manage to raise a family of 9, but all her children went to receive a higher education. Tia never gave up and having been diagnosed with breast cancer has not slowed her down! She is a true inspiration and is my role model.

Tia is the reason why I joined this cause!  At first I thought I'm here to give, but I got so much more in return! The joy and laughter, the planning, the aches and pains while training, and fundraising events have truly been life changing. When I signed up, I really didn't think much of the walk and event.  I thought I can do this, no problem! Boy was I in for a surprise.  The commitment had been a challenge in so many ways, such as finding the time to do my daily walks!  Something by myself and on the weekend with "Team Cagigas".

September 11-12, 2010, was the true test! No more training and fundraising. This date changed my life. What this walk has taught me will stay with me for the rest of my life!!!  Getting up at 5:30am to get ready, meet the team and getting to the start line was amazing.  The minute I stepped to the start line, I saw thousands of women, men, teenagers, and older people together, this was so empowering. Hearing the words from the host "right now someone some where is hearing the words you got breast cancer; someone has died from breast cancer, someone is going through chemo."  We were bringing HOPE, wow it shocked me; that  I am capable of bringing HOPE to someone. Being part of making a difference made a difference in my quality of life!

This journey, had it all.  There were moments of cheer, laughter, despair, crying, and silence; all representing LOVE AND HOPE. As I walked, I did not know what to expect – uphill, down hill, walking on concrete, grass, loose gravel, sand, or rocks. I started to feel uncomfortable with the unknown. This was all very profound and spiritual for me; I thought of what some women go through while they are waiting for their lab test results, waiting to hear the news that all went well, that they are in remission, that they are for now CANCER FREE.  Through this walk I met new people and learned their stories.  Some people did the walk to raise the money, others had family members just like me who had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and others had lost a loved one.

Team Cagigas which is the team i joined, was not prepared for walking uphill and downhill.  So this walk was really hard for all of us. Physically by the mile 16, we were pretty tired, and every extra mile from that point on was painful. But the support from the cheerleaders and our family gave us the energy to keep moving forward to the finish line! The 2nd day however was the hardest of all, because we were pretty tired and our feet were aching. However by Mile 7, we got our second wind of energy to finish this walk gracefuly.  We had a nice surprise – Tia Mariate came see Team Cagigas walk! Talk about empowering, second wind and joy. The minute we saw Tia, the pain went away and it helped us stay focused on finishing the walk.  Love does make a difference and without love this walk could not have been possible.

This journey simply taught me the power of LOVE in action! Determination to get to the finish line, and faith as I walked by faith not by sight.  Seeing families coming together to cheer, breast cancer survivors walking along with family members, and "virgin walkers" like me. All of us united for one cause, IN IT TO END IT!  I know there is a lot more work to be done, before a CURE IS FOUND.  But I'm certain that the day will come and I'm greatful to have contributed.

I'm grateful to know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  My hope is that each of you raise your bar this month as well.  Women, get your regular mamograms done, take your sisters, comadre, and mothers with you to get checked. Raise your awareness level and realize that one life lost is one too many.  Please get involved, and support others that are raising funds as well as awareness to END THIS AND HELP FIND A CURE!