Breast Cancer Prevention Month



BCF prayer flag ceremony, photo by Cathy Ann Taylor

October is national Breast Cancer Awareness month and I am kicking it off with my fifth year of fundraising for the Breast Cancer Fund. Let’s make it Breast Cancer Prevention month!


Next April I head to the world’s tallest peak. At 29,035 feet Everest looms as a sentinel over the Nepal-Tibet border. Lest you think I’m crazy enough (or rich enough) to climb it, let me assure you I am only going to the base camp at 17,000 feet. But along the way I will be scrambling up Kala Patar, a mere hill, which is 18,514 feet. That will be the high point in my life, geographically speaking. The trek is a 14 day strenuous hike on rocky steep terrain at high elevation.

Last year an acquaintance asked me, “How does your trekking or climbing do anything for the Breast Cancer Fund? How can that help?” I assume she thought it was self indulgent. Many people think that I am raising money to send myself on these treks but in fact, I pay all my own expenses. All the donations I receive go directly to BCF. As for the trekking aspect, climbing is a personal endeavor that honors the courage it takes to face breast cancer; and it is a collective effort to prevent the disease.

So, although I do enjoy these trips, and hiking is a longtime love of mine, I am doing it for my friends who have suffered from breast cancer, to raise awareness and much needed funding for a small yet powerful organization that I believe in.

Please help the Breast Cancer Fund fight to eliminate toxins in our environment that lead to cancer. You can make a difference. Even small amounts add up, nothing is insignificant.

Deadline for donations is April 1, 2011.

Here is the info you will need:

Donate online at http://prevention.breastcancerfund.org/goto/marie

Or send a check payable to BREAST CANCER FUND to:

Marie DeJournette
P.O. Box 791298
Paia, Hi. 96779