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We ran for breast cancer and now my heart is swollen

Irene and I ran the 1K at this year’s Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run For The Cure. I am so grateful to have been a blog ambassador for the Run this year. THANK YOU to everyone who donated.

I almost forgot to tell you how the CIBC Run for The Cure went. And you must hear all about it because it was FANTASTIC.

First, Irene and I got to ride the subway downtown, just the two of us. One of Irene’s biggest fears about starting Grade One this year and doing full days for the first time was that she wouldn’t get enough time with me. (And now I’m getting all choked up thinking about how soon spending a Sunday morning with her mom is the last thing she’ll want to do. And wasn’t she just bouncing around in her Jolly Jumper, like, yesterday?)

How is the baby big enough to run an entire 1K?

How is this baby big enough to run an entire 1K?

We got off the subway at Museum station and got to walk through the U of T campus which is still one of my top five places in the world. I showed her Carr Hall, where my parents met in a Philosophy seminar in 1976, and where I myself took several classes. We walked across Queen’s Park and into the King’s College Circle where all the runners were gathered.

There were people decked out in tutus and tassels. There were people with pink extensions in their hair and pictures of their beloveds pinned to their backs. “I run for you.” There were speakers with moving stories and then a rock band to get us all moving as we lined up at our starting lines.

Irene was amazed. She looked around with big eyes and a bigger smile. “Look at them, Mama!” she said about a team decked out in crazy hats.

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5 easy ways to fundraise for the cure

5 easy ways to fundraise for the cure

I am thrilled to be one of the blog ambassadors for this year’s Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run For The Cure. My daughter and I will be running the 1K in Toronto on October 5, but first we have to fundraise! 

I know, I know, I know. You really believe in the cause. You totally get why the CIBC Run For the Cure is so super important. You’d even be game to get your run on and finally have a reason to start exercising again. But fundraising? Ugh.

That was me too. But, you know what? We’re just psyching ourselves out. It’s not that big a deal. The minimum fundraising commitment for the CIBC Run for the Cure is only $150 per participant. That’s like asking 15 people for ten bucks. Easy.

A few more easy ways to raise some cash money for breast cancer research, education and advocacy.

1. Baby and kids sale
Wait. Don’t sell your actual kids. Do sell all their old stuff. Declutter your house and fundraise all at the same time. I know. I’m a genius. And if you still have some get-up-and-go left over after dusting off the bouncy chair and boxes of wee sleepers, you could even organize a community sale. Open it up to donations of gently used baby and kid stuff from friends and neighbours and spread the word at local moms groups and drop-in centres.

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Prizes, Prizes, Prizes Galore!

Playground Confidential is hosting a raffle to raise money for breast cancer research at the Princess Margaret Hospital.  I will be walking 60 km during The Weekend to End Breast Cancer, September 12 -13,  and have only three weeks to raise $2000.  Read the post Money Can Buy You Love for more about the walk and my motivation.

DONATE HERE to enter the raffle. Every $10 donated will automatically get one virtual raffle ticket. (Make sure to include your contact info so I can get the prizes to you.)

Extra big love and thanks to my generous sponsors for donating such fabulous prizes! Here they are:

The regularly “scheduled” (ha!) Playground programming continues below.

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Money Can Buy You Love: Donate and Fight Breastcancer

I don’t have a personal breast cancer story to tug at your heart strings. Trust me, I’d use one if I could. In fact, I’m one of the only people out there who hasn’t lost someone to breast cancer. Not yet, anyway. I do have an aunt who beat breast cancer (I think), but we don’t talk much about that sort of thing in my family. My husband lost his grandmother to the disease before he was born and one of his eight aunts (on his father’s side alone!) is a breast cancer survivor. (Another aunt is currently battling vaginal cancer.)

I do know, however, that the Canadian Cancer Society says that in 2009, “An estimated 22,700 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 5,400 will die of it.” In Canada alone. (Add another 192,370 diagnoses, and 40,170 deaths in the United States according to the National Cancer Institute.) That’s a lot of people. It is the leading type of cancer among women and one in nine woman will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. So, no, I haven’t lost anyone to breast cancer. Not yet.

I also happen to live in a city that is home to the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) — the largest cancer-specific institution in the country and a top five ranking hospital for cancer research in the world. The Campbell Family Institue for Breast Cancer Research is supported by the PMH and is a world leader in cancer research and continues to break new ground in breast cancer research, treatment and studies. It all costs money, though. Does the institute have enough money? Not yet.

For the past four years I have been inspired by a team of women in my husband’s family who have participated in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer. Led by my sister-in-law, Tara Keenan, the Keenans and the Crew For the Cure have raised over $80,000 for breast cancer research. ($30.5 million have been raised since 2004 in total.) First, each individual needs to raise at least $2000 worth of donations and then they walk. And walk. They walk 60km and it takes two days.  Get 4757 women walking together through the streets of Toronto — that’s how you raise awareness. I hear it’s a life changing experience, but I wouldn’t know. Not yet.

The treatment and detection of breast cancer is evolving by leaps and bounds. Women who would have faced certain death a decade ago can now fight for survival. We can screen for genetics and breathe a sigh of relief if we don’t have the breast cancer gene. If. I don’t have a personal story of breast cancer loss, no. But I do have a baby girl. When she grows up she will likely have a one in nine chance of developing breast cancer. I don’t like those odds. I don’t think I want to take that bet. So let me see how much money I can wring out of you fine people. Let’s see just how far our research dollars can take us. No, we don’t have a cure. Not yet.


Here’s the thing, though. The Weekend To End Breast Cancer is September 12 -13 which is less than a month away. I need to raise $2000 by then and my own funds are already earmarked for the groceries. So I really, really need you to move on this. Here’s how it works: follow this link here (or click through the pretty button on the sidebar) and donate to my fundraising efforts. Just in case the satisfaction of fighting cancer is not enough … I will, in return, not only walk like crazy for two days, but I will fundraise like crazy for three weeks. I will beg and plead and otherwise persuade business people to donate prizes to my cause. Every $20 donated will get one entry into a draw to be held on Thursday Sept. 10. Be sure to include your contact info in the message portion of the donation so I can get your prize to you.

Check back for an updated list of prizes as they come in.

I would also love to hear your breast cancer stories in my comments section. (Or just link to them if you’d like.) Oh, and tell your friends, why don’t you?