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Bring on the pink!

Bring on the pink!

Hello!  My name is Kacey and I’m a marketing specialist at WSOC-TV. Can I ask you a few favors? First, please read to the end of this blog so you don’t begin and end with the next paragraph and think that I’m a lazy person who only cares about costumes. My second favor? Well, we’ll get to that.

Nobody loves dressing up in costumes more than me. Whether it's being Santa at my office holiday party, roaming the halls of WSOC-TV in my Halloween chicken costume or dressing up in my best 80s gear for a News Kids concert, the fact is…I love costumes! When I first entertained the idea of walking in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, I immediately started planning my costume! Pink wig, pink tank top and tights, pink tutu, pink tennis shoes and socks, pink bracelets and necklaces, pink sunglasses, pink nails, pink boa, etc. "BRING ON THE PINK!"

My second thought was, "Wow, did I really just volunteer to do this?" I thought about how many blisters I would get and how exhausted I would be walking 40 miles over two days. But then the truth emerged with this conversation inside my head: "REALLY KACEY? You are scared of a few blisters, and being tired from walking so many miles? I feel sorry for you…  NOT! Consider the thousands of women around the globe who have battled breast cancer. Think about the pain they've endured during that battle. I think you can walk 40 miles and deal with a few blisters. " And suddenly I had a burning desire to get going, to get walking, to get fundraising, to get pumped about this new adventure. Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, bring it on!

I'm not walking on Team 9/64 just to get to wear the pink costumes or to share in the fun that we'll have on October 26th and 27th (because there will be fun). I'm walking for every woman who has lost her life to breast cancer, who is currently battling breast cancer, who has won her battle against breast cancer or who may get breast cancer in the future. I'm walking for all of you. I may not know you, but every single one of you will be in my heart those two days as I walk in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.

So you're still reading… good! Now for my 2nd favor: will you join me in walking and raising money to help punch cancer in the face? Besides fundraising, this is my first real opportunity to fight cancer and it won't be my last. I'm sure everyone reading this blog has been affected by cancer in some way. Here is our chance to make a difference.

I will be walking in memory of 3 very special people who have impacted my life: Diego, Kim and Jeff.  My first experience with cancer came as a news reporter for WECT in Wilmington, NC. I reported a touching story of a 5-year-old boy named Diego whose father was a chief petty officer in the Navy. I covered the ceremony where little Diego was sworn in as an honorary chief petty officer, just like his father. Sadly, Diego lost his battle with cancer shortly after this special moment.

I also lost my cousin in 2008 to lung cancer. Kim was an amazing woman who taught me so much about courage and the love of a mother as she stayed strong day in and day out for her 4-year-old son. She fought bravely up until the moment she took her last breath.

Then there is Jeff, the father of a good friend, who lost his battle with liposarcoma in 2011. I didn’t know Jeff for very long, but he truly impacted my life. I met him shortly after he was diagnosed in June 2011. He always had a smile on his face! Even in the hospital after many surgeries, he joked with his family, singing oldies songs to make us smile.  How can I be afraid of walking a few miles when Diego, Kim and Jeff went through so much more than blisters from rubbing tennis shoes? It’s the least I can do to honor them. And I know they will be right there with me as I take each step. I’m hoping you’ll be there too, walking right next to me.

So, I end with a final favor. Take a moment to visit www.avonwalk.org and learn more about the cause, register to walk or make a donation. Trust me, you'll love the feeling you get in your heart when you take that first step to punch cancer in the face. And bring on the pink!

Visit www.avonwalk.org today.