Walk for a Cure to Breast Cancer at the Pyramids

We did the Walk for a Cure to raise money for breast cancer research today.  It was a great event.  There are many sponsors for the event.  Here are some of the ones you'll know that were listed on the back of the shirts we got for doing the walk:  Samsung, EgyptAir, Pepsi, Hard Rock Cafe, Chevrolet, Telecom Egypt, and many Egyptian businesses, as well as  the US. Dept. of State.  The event was really well-attended and people were in great spirits with people of all nationalities mixing and sharing in each other's photos.  Last year there were supposedly 10,000 people who participated in the walk; this year it looked like maybe double that number.


I registered us yesterday at the tiny office of the group organizing the event, the Breast Cancer Foundation of Egypt.  This organization is affiliated with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure group that is in the U.S.

There were so many buses there.  We signed up to get a bus that would pick up at a mall near our neighorhood at 7:30am, but as we were walking there in the morning, we came upon 7 buses parked on a side street that were also taking people to the walk, so we got on those buses.   There were many teams of people walking in the race:  schools, embassies, businesses, etc.

On the bus, on our way to the walk

This is a group of Egyptian students with Egypt's flag.

Many people wanted to have Cameron in their photos.  He liked it at first, but by the end he declined an invitation, to the disappointment of young woman.

Jeff, Cameron and me in front of one of the three main pyramids on this site.

Despite the festive feel of this walk, there were reminders of how serious this issue is.  One group carried a banner saying they were walking in the name of a particular woman.  As some of you may know, breast cancer effects 1 of 8 women.  It is expected that almost 40,000 women in the U.S. will die from breast cancer in 2010.  I read that breast cancer effects women in Egypt earlier than women elsewhere.  The age range in Egypt is 30-60 years old with the median age being 46 years old, 10 years younger than North America and Europe.  If you would like more information about breast cancer, here is a link with some other facts:

http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/understand_bc/statistics.jsp
One of the most important things women can do is have a mammogram every 1-2 years after turning 40 since early detection is critical.

If you'd like to help contribute to finding a cure, you can buy the breast cancer stamps through the U.S. post office.  The stamps cost 11 cents more (55 cents instead of 44 cents), but it's an easy way to give a little at a time, and this effort really adds up.  Since the stamp was first issued in 1998, it has raised $68.9 million for breast cancer research.   If you'd like to read more about this, here's a link to an article:

http://www.examiner.com/postal-service-in-st-louis/breast-cancer-research-stamp-from-postal-service-raises-money-for-an-important-cause

This blog entry is dedicated to a friend of our family's, Katie Smith, who was a wonderful, kind, smart young woman and mother, who courageously fought against breast cancer for two years.