“There are no right words except three...you are cured.”

These are the words my mom spoke to her doctors as she was diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer in her early 40’s. As a nine-year-old child, the fear of one day waking up without a mother was unheard of. Given our situation, I had little choice but to grow up very quickly and care for my younger sister. This diagnosis was followed by many grueling treatments including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. After two years, the cancer continued to spread and metastasized to other areas of her body including her clavicle, hip, and liver. Yet again, she underwent extensive chemotherapy for her liver and radiation to her hip, clavicle, and spine. Although her cancer seemed to be fairly responsive to treatment, it continued to recur. After a few months, her doctors discovered three lesions in her brain. At this time, the best treatment option was a clinical trial of intense high-beam radiation to her brain. Trusting her doctors, she signed up because after all, her determination to beat this was greater than the likely side effects that she would endure down the road.  

For the third year in a row, I've made the decision to crush breast cancer by participating in the AVON 39 walk. This 2 Day Walk will be 39 miles of sore muscles and blisters, but I'm ready to take on the challenge because this temporary pain does not even compare to the various treatments that cancer survivors endure. I'm walking to honor everyone who is still fighting this disease, the survivors, and those who have lost their battle with breast cancer. Most importantly, I am walking for my mom, Amy Soscia, who lost her incredibly courageous battle with breast cancer 6 years ago in September. This year is extra special to me because the walk starts on her birthday, June 24th! 

I am required to raise at least $1,800 to EARN MY 39, but I plan to raise much, much more! Last year I was able to raise $3,800...Let's try to break $4,000 this year! Thanks in advance for your support!!

You can make a donation right here on my webpage by clicking the "Donate Now" button to the right. If you prefer to write a check, click the “Donate By Mail” button and follow the instructions on the form.

Your donations will be managed and disbursed by the Avon Foundation. The dollars you pledge will put food on the table of a breast cancer patient and her family. They will enable access to mammograms and medicine, fuel research, and save lives. Need any more reason to click that Donate Now button?

I’m walking with thousands of other 39ers. We’re banding together in solidarity and have one goal: to take breast cancer down. So many sisters and mothers and friends have been lost. We see a world without breast cancer for our daughters and nieces. AVON 39 is a force of change that can’t be stopped. By supporting me with a donation, you’re part of it.