It was a simple pitch by Tina McDonough to get a new walker on her team.
McDonough, who founded the Valley Girls and Guys team, teamed up with Abby Steiner to enlist a new member to walk in the Susan G. Komen Foundation 3-Day for the Cure in September.
Kris DiOrio of Maple Valley was diagnosed with stage 3 invasive lobular breast cancer on May 5, 2008.
Last year Steiner walked in DiOrio’s honor.
“When it was time for Tina to start her quest for the 2010 walk, both her her an Abby said, ‘Kris, you’re alive, you’re a survivor, you’ve gotta walk this year!’,” DiOrio said. “How could I say no to that? So, here I am, planning on walking 60 miles next month.”
DiOrio said there have been a few times she thought she may have been a little out of her mind to sign up for the event.
“But I figure if I can handle chemotherapy, going bald, a bi-lateral mastectomy, hysterectomy, seven weeks of radiation and reconstructive surgery all in a 12 month period of time, I can walk 60 miles,” DiOrio said in an e-mail interview. “As far as what to expect, I know it will be more emotional than I can even imagine. I did attend the 2009 closing ceremony to support the team and it was very difficult.”
For DiOrio, who is 41, it will be particularly special.
“My walking partner will be my mother-in-law, Debbie DiOrio, who is an 18 year breast cancer survivor,” DiOrio said. “This is her first year walking, as well, and I cannot imagine a more perfect person to be by my side.”
All this began in 2007 when McDonough and three of her friends signed up to walk in honor of a friend.
“We didn’t really know what we were getting ourselves into,” McDonough said. “My friend that I was walking for that year ended up passing away from breast cancer three months later. So, I formed a team and said, ‘That’s it. We’re doing this every year until we find a cure.’”
The team, Valley Girls and Guys, grew exponentially in 2008. It went from four to 39 members.
In 2009 there were 59 members of the team which raised $142,000.
This year there are 86 walkers, McDonough explained, and they need to raise at least $197,000 or $2,300 per person in order to participate.
McDonough’s goal, however, is to raise $250,000.
Still, there is purpose behind the amount that is required to be raised, and if each walker doesn’t raise at least $2,300 the team can not participate in the event, McDonough explained.
“This is meant to be difficult, in a way, because $2,300 is hard to come by and neither is walking the 60 miles,” she said. “This is supposed to give you a small glance into what someone with cancer is going through.”
In March the team hosted a fundraiser with a silent auction and shortly after that the team began training.
“We send out training walks (information) to our team,” McDonough said. “You start out gradually. You don’t just do flat, you also do hills. We cross train, as well, because there’s a little bit of everything you’re walking on (during the event).”
Training is a must, McDonough explained, because you can’t just go out and do 60 miles in three days without it.
And when training isn’t enough during the walk, having the survivors there can make a difference, McDonough said.
“Last year I got to walk with one of our survivors,” she said. “It was day two and it was 80 degrees. A couple of people on our team were just done. One of the survivors on our team, she lifted up her shirt and she’d had a double mastectomy and had not had reconstructive surgery.”
The sight of the effect cancer had on the woman motivated the team and reminded them why they were there, McDonough said, and there were no complaints from there on.
“It’s emotionally draining,” she said. “It’s forever life changing.”
DiOrio is excited to do the walk with the team and she said McDonough had provided “continued commitment and leadership to this cause — she is truly amazing!”
“We can only hope that by taking this journey that it will continue to raise awareness and money to find a cure, not only for breast cancer, but for all cancers,” DiOrio said. “It is unreal how many are affected by this disease — it is truly overwhelming.”
The Seattle 3-Day Walk for the Cure will be Sept. 24-26. It begins on Friday morning at 60 Acre Park in Redmond and wraps up Sunday at Memorial Stadium in Seattle.
For more information about Valley Girls and Guys find them on Facebook or on the event site at www.the3day.org. Click “Donate to a Participant” then search for Tina McDonough to go to the team’s page.
