It’s one of my favorite times of year. I start to feel the hint of the cool fall air, and a breeze is noticeable on my outdoor runs. The holiday season decorations are being flaunted in stores, Soccer Saturdays are happening, college football is in high gear, and there are Friday night lights. Even the pumpkin spice returns! There is another significant part of this time of year: Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We’ve grown accustomed to the 50 shades of pink mixed into the fall and typical sports fan colors.
Since April 2018 – when my family firsthand lived through the unimaginable, coveting my sister, Kristin Todd, and her last days on earth (diagnosed during her pregnancy with her only son, Logan) – many of us have been faced with great loss, consequently creating tighter human bonds. We’ve been navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, witnessing loved ones in accidents and friends and family coming to the end of hard-fought diseases. There can be more research and awareness for so many diseases and unknowns that ultimately affect our wellbeing and health.
Still to this day, 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Therefore, a full month is dedicated to this horrible disease that took my sister at 36 years young.
I am in awe of how we come together with a full color palette of pink to honor and remember survivors, thrivers, and those whose battle came to an end. Everywhere you go, each time you turn on the TV during October, it’s a guarantee you will see the pink color signifying breast cancer. For some, it’s a reminder to make the phone call to get a mammogram. For others, it’s running a race in remembrance of Mom, or it’s the trigger to donate for more research. For many, it’s the celebration of getting through the last grueling chemo treatment knowing you are in remission – praise God!
For the thrivers (patients living with stage 4 breast cancer, also known as metastatic breast cancer), it can be a reminder of hope and comfort that our American culture is fully behind the support of awareness, and simultaneously, it can be a reminder that with a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer, you will never be on the “I survived” celebration side of pink.
Stage 4 Needs More.
According to metavivor.org, 30% of all breast cancer patients develop metastatic cancer with only 2-5% of research funding it. This is when the cancer has spread to other organs in the body, eventually resulting in death. Can we come together to raise money to stop the spread? Thankfully, today, a diagnosis of breast cancer is not a death sentence. Yet, if the cancer travels from the origin or comes back elsewhere, the life expectancy is 18-24 months.
Metavivor.org was created to focus solely on this terminal stage. 100% of money raised goes toward stage 4 research. In memory of my sister, Kristin, I promised her that I would continue shedding light on the most progressed stage of the disease, and I would always advocate for more to be done. This is the fourth year Nona Soccer Academy and our Nona Sports Club Family will lead the way with a breast cancer fundraiser through the selling of pink shirts, powered by Bassin Center for Plastic Surgery Orlando, Nona Adventure Park, and more local sponsors.
Donations can be made to Nona Soccer CARES Foundation at nonasocceracademy.com or by using the link in our Instagram bio @NonaSoccerAcademy. Orders for shirts can be placed at [email protected]. Profits will be donated to metavivor.org on behalf of Nona Soccer CARES and the Lake Nona community.
I am hopeful that one day there is a cure and Pinktober turns into a celebration for all. I have hope that the ringing of the “cancer-free” bell is in the future of everyone who fights this disease. I started this pink movement with Fabio and Cris Silva in October 2018, just six months after losing Kristin. I wish she could have seen the support we have given to the disease. She would be in awe of every aspect of the Pink Movement here that gives much more hope to women on the same journey.
When you walk into the grocery store and see the pink balloons or you turn on the TV and notice the pink ribbon on all the sports uniforms, just remember it has a dual meaning for those in our community living with stage 4. Buy the Pink for the cause. Let’s continue celebrating our survivors with the 50 shades of pink. All I ask is we keep in mind it’s not “rosy” pink for all.
Kristin explained she couldn’t have lived almost five years with stage 4 without the love and encouragement she had from family, friends, her medical teams, and complete strangers. “The Journey is Ours,” she reminded us. And now, the journey is ours to continue this fight.
Thank you to the sponsors of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Lake Nona.
BASSIN Center for Plastic Surgery | https://www.plastic-surgery-florida.com |
| NEMOURS | https://www.nemours.org/locations/orlando-nemours-childrens-hospital.html |
| Nona Adventure Park | https://www.nonaadventurepark.com |
| DIME Medical Artistry | https://dimemedicalartistry.com |
| INNOVA Restoration | https://www.innovafl.com |
| Lake Nona Performance Club | https://www.lakenonaperformanceclub.com |
| Lake Nona | https://www.lakenona.com |
| Solaria Energy Solutions | https://www.solariaenergysolutions.com |
To donate directly to Metavivor: https://tinyurl.com/metavivordonation
To purchase pink shirts: Contact [email protected] or stop by the Lake Nona Performance Center at 6775 Chopra Terrace, Orlando, FL 32827. Shirts will be available before Saturday, October 9, 2021.
