The alarm sounded early this morning. 5:00 am to be exact. Today, I participated in my first cancer climb at South Mountain Park in Phoenix. Each year, in association with the American Cancer Society, individuals and teams can raise funds for cancer research by walking up the mountain (literally) to help in the fight against cancer.
Some people do it in support of someone they know who has fought cancer and is still winning the fight. Others walk in memory of a loved one who lost their fight. And, still others are walking because they are the survivor. I met such a survivor on the bus ride to the starting point. However, at that moment I didn't know she was. I found this out when the same gal sat next to me on the bus ride back to where our cars were parked. With several thousand people participating in the event, what are the odds that I would sit next to the same person, twice! I noticed she had a different color t-shirt in her hands. She was wearing the same shirt as me, which was given out to everyone. Her other shirt had the word Survivor on the back, and then it hit me. She told me she has battled cervical cancer, and she has made it 6 years since having to undergo surgery, radiation, and chemo. She said you don't know how precious life is until you go through something like that and that it was the toughest thing she's gone through. What do you say to a cancer survivor? The only thing I could think of was to say "congratulations". Kind of lame, but she thanked me.
This is the route we took. Starting from a parking lot near the center top of the map, we walked just under 6 miles to the summit. From the summit, you could choose to walk down or take a bus.
Downtown Phoenix from the 3 mile mark.
The party at the top.
Made it!
