In 2001, San Antonio pathologist, Deborah Douglas learned she had breast cancer. She had already lost her husband and her father to cancer. Now, it was her turn to face it.
Actually, she had been facing cancer for years. In an active pathology practice, she had seen hundreds of cancers under microscope, had been the one to so often make the decision: benign or malignant. After getting her own diagnosis, she decided to retire from her medical practice. She went through all the treatments, was pronounced cancer-free, and in 2004, as a way to prove to her family that she was fit and well, she decided to walk in one of the Susan Komen Foundations 3-Day Walk for the Cure events. She got online, registered for the first one, and then on an impulse, decided to register for all ten 3-Days to be held that year. Each 3-Day Walk is 60 miles, done in twenty-mile increments each day. Later came the idea to write a book of the experience. And what a book it is.
Divided into ten chapters, each chapter representing a different 3-Day city where Douglas walked, she tells the breast cancer story through interviews with other participants and cancer survivors that she meets at each of the events. At the end of each chapter is a montage of photographs taken of those who shared their stories. Layered in between, in short passages, Deborah's own story also emerges. The result is a deeply moving and compelling work of literature that also happens to be of vital medical importance.
All of the people in the book are cancer survivors in one way or another. Most have been diagnosed with breast cancer, but some are walking for loved ones they have lost. One young husband saw a poster for a 3-Day event on his way home from his wife's funeral. Three months later, he was walking in her memory. Another walker wore a pink jacket from 2002 that read: "In honor of my mom. 13 cities. 780 miles." And yet "Foot Soldiers" is far from depressing.
Many participants come to the Walks as part of a team. Some dress up in wacky costumes like contestants on "Let's Make Deal." They have Opening and Closing Ceremonies, sort of mini-Olympics productions with people giving speeches, with music, a "survivor's circle" and a flag processional. They sleep in tents, thousands of walkers, on sleeping bags, with a big tent dining hall. During the Walk, comfort stations, theme-decorated Pit Stops or Grab & Go Stations, line the route, and driving crews "sweep up" walkers who can't make the whole 20 miles each day on foot. Other drivers ride along in vans with loud speakers playing Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman" and other up-tempo songs to encourage the walkers. It sounds like great fun, summer camp for adults, the kind of place where you probably make friends quickly and for life. Douglas says, "For many participants, hugging is as integral to the 3-Day as walking. So is being nice, helpful, and emotionally open."
As I read I found myself wanting to join, wondering if I could possibly walk twenty miles in one day, let alone 60 in three, or 600 in a few short weeks as Deborah Douglas did. I went online and found a web site, [...] that explains the Walks in detail. They have links to other sites with important information about breast cancer awareness. One excellent site is [...] with particularly interesting and educational interactive features. You can also visit Deborah Douglas's site, [...] to learn more about her and "Foot Soldiers." It is a book to read and then to share.
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