![1a 3 day edited](https://cdn.sdnews.com/wp-content/uploads/20231117182021/1a-3-day_edited-768x1024.jpg)
Bird Rock resident the Rev. Janet Farley (above) just participated for the 14th time in the Nov. 17-19 Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk for breast cancer research this year in memory of her mother, a survivor who contracted the disease in her early 40s and lived past age 100.
“My mother was told she only had a 20% chance of survival,” noted the 71-year-old Farley, who has walked Susan G. Komen since 2005, mostly in San Diego but also in San Francisco and Boston.
All Komen walkers are required to raise $2,300 per walk. Farley did one better this year, having raised $2,797 a day before the cancer fundraiser.
“I am walking again this year to raise funds and awareness to stop breast cancer,” said Farley asking on her GoFundMe Page. “Do you know anyone who has/had breast cancer; perhaps a co-worker, friend, sister, cousin, mother, and/or spouse? I think we all know someone, who watched the battle with surgery, chemo, and gratefully, for most, the slow but successful recovery.”
Added Farley: “I want to increase the number of breast cancer survivors as well as decrease the cases. That’s why I am committed to raising funds as best I can. Yep, I am asking for your help in raising funds. As a commitment to the walk and a challenge to you my friends and family, I will match funds for the first $1,200 donated. Your support means you are also helping to end breast cancer forever.”
The Presbyterian minister noted a couple of her family members have fallen victim to the disease she characterized as “insidious,” including members in her congregations. This year she walked alone, but added she typically walks with a group numbering 10 or more people.
“Over the last 14 years combined, the church women I’ve walked with have raised well over $250,000,” Farley pointed out adding the Komen organization is extremely helpful in “showing their appreciation” to walkers via providing food, music, and entertainment at camp sights along their route.
Farley’s grateful “to be healthy enough to walk,” adding she “loves to tell the story about her mother (surviving)’’ to others along the way.
The minister prints out little cards with scripture verses that she passes out to fellow walkers along the way to help encourage them. And many need it. Last year, Farley met a man on the walk who’d lost his wife to cancer. She pointed out, “You’re touched by the people who do this,” adding she also appreciates all the “encouragers” who support the walkers as well as staff working behind the scenes to make the event happen smoothly.
“I would encourage everyone to walk,” said Farley about Komen. “It’s not a race. Almost anybody in relatively good health can do it. Every time you help someone – you feel grateful to have been able to do that. And to see people who cheer you on, have signs thanking you for walking… It makes a difference in people’s lives, and makes you want to make a difference in someone else’s life.”
SUSAN G. KOMEN’S 3-DAY
A 60-mile walk dedicated to ending breast cancer, the annual Susan G. Komen fundraiser was held in 2023 in San Diego on Nov. 17-19. Hundreds of passionate participants walked over three days, to raise money for research that brings closer the cures for breast cancer and supports people impacted by the disease today.
The 3-Day walk is a testament to the strength and commitment of breast cancer advocates, with each walker raising a minimum of $2,300 while walking 20 miles a day for three consecutive days. This powerful event has generated more than $154.7 million since its inception in San Diego, contributing to Komen’s total investment of more than $1.1 billion in research and $2.5 billion in real-time support for patients and those living with metastatic breast cancer.
Throughout the weekend, San Diego residents had the opportunity to encourage and cheer on 3-Day participants as they journeyed 60 miles (an average of 48,000 steps) throughout the streets of Del Mar, La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, Mission Hills, Hillcrest, and San Diego.
Since 1982, Susan G. Komen has been at the forefront of leading research, public policy initiatives, global education and outreach, and providing direct patient care services to make the biggest impact against breast cancer. For 40 years, Komen helped reduce the breast cancer mortality rate by 42% from 1989 to 2019. The organization has invested nearly $1.1 billion in research and more than $2.3 billion in patient support services, including education, patient navigation, screening and diagnostic services, and financial assistance, serving millions of patients in more than 60 countries. Visit komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.