Race for the Cure Denver 2008 | Gets Personal

On Sunday, October 7, 2007 an astounding 61,591 women, men and children walked and ran in Denver’s Fifteenth Annual Komen Denver Race for the Cure®. Denver is on track again this year to be one of the largest Susan Komen Race for the Cure venues.

But as big as Denver and Susan Komen are it all comes down to remarkable people and the people who inspire them  to give a little of their soles to find a cure for breast cancer. Priscilla Hein is one of those people and I asked her to share her story about the person "Behind the Button"....

"Pat was my sister and she had been fighting Breast Cancer since 1999. She was a fighter.  In 2001 the cancer moved into her bones and the doctors had told her if she made it five years it would be a miracle.  Well as you can see she made it to August 12th 2008.  She gave it a hell of a fight.  Pat had two boys, their dad died when they were seven and eight years old in 1997.   Pat fought for those boys she didn't want them to be parentless at such a young age. Her and her boys moved in with me and my husband in Colorado moving from New Hampshire.  She knew that she needed to do something in case she took a turn for the worse she wanted her boys to be with family..
 
Last December she was told the cancer went to her liver and she had six months to live if the chemo didn't work. She was fighting to stay alive to see her youngest son turn 18 in June.  Well she made it..  She never complained one bit. Everyone who met her loved her...she touched so many lives. At her memorial service so many people stood up and talked about how much she touched their lives.. It made me proud to be her sister!
 
So the meaning about the button...well the picture is of her and my granddaughter. She sat with her in Pat's bedroom and they watched the Disney channel together all the time.  I took that picture of them so she would have something to remember Pat by.   
 
Gosh, the meaning is so she can be there with us when we walk in spirit.  To see that even though she is no longer here with us she will always be in our hearts.  And that we want a cure for this disease so that other families will not suffer the loss that we have. Plus we want people to put a face with the disease."

Priscilla will be out there bright and early Saturday morning October 5 with some 60,000 other heroes walking in honor of their loved ones and so that one day breast cancer will be like polio something we tell our grandkids about. Click here to find a Susan Komen For the Cure event near you and if you'd like to contribute to Priscilla's effort click here!