By Paul Sisson
More than 2,200 people are participating in Susan G. Komen San Diego’s 3-Day walk this year, and most of them are moving their feet as an act of remembrance.
They’re making the 60-mile trek, which ended Sunday afternoon, to remember a mother, a sister, maybe even a husband or brother, who lost a life to breast cancer, a disease that the American Cancer Society predicts will kill 41,000 people this year. Others are walking to share their own memories of a cancer diagnosis survived, a victory to be celebrated during the work of raising millions to support cancer research.
But a few like Gwynne Martin of Mechanicsburg, Pa., walked during their cancer fight.
On Saturday at lunchtime, at the midpoint of the pilgrimage, she sat on the grass at Bonita Cove, embedded in a circle of friends and family members 29 strong and calling themselves “Gwynne’s Friends.” They came to San Diego from five states, working to raise more than $75,000 toward cancer research.
With a diagnosis of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer that has recently spread to her liver, some might wonder why Martin wasn’t home in bed rather than out in the sun, thousands of miles from home, walking mile after mile.
With a diagnosis of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer that has recently spread to her liver, some might wonder why Martin wasn’t home in bed rather than out in the sun, thousands of miles from home, walking mile after mile.
Though she said it can be tough to see the memorials that many of her fellow walkers carry in tribute to loved ones who have died from breast cancer, Martin said she finds comfort in doing as much as she can, as long as she can, even while undergoing chemotherapy.
“I’m in pain all of the time, but I take Motrin, and I keep on walking,” Martin said.
“There are two options,” added her husband, Paul Martin. “You keep pushing forward or you give up. The second one’s not a great alternative, so you keep pushing.”