For the last several months, Lake City resident Ric Wraspir has been leading a large, pink-clad entourage up and down the streets and hills of Seattle. These walkers, as innocuous as they may appear in their pink attire, are waging a crusade against breast cancer. Next Friday, Sept. 12, Wraspir will join other participants in a three-day, 60-mile journey to promote breast-cancer awareness. Wraspir described the event as a "big walking billboard for breast-cancer advocacy." A FAMILY EXPERIENCEWraspir has a record of active involvement and service to his Seattle community. He has served as chair of the Nathan Hale Sports Booster Program, as Lake City Soccer Club coach and on the Meadowbrook Community Center advisory council. Passion seems to find people, and Wraspir's case is no exception. Several years ago, Ric's cousin, Sherrie, experienced pain in her breast. Thinking the pain came from getting hit hard at a volleyball game, she went to the doctor. Sherrie, an athletic 35-year-old, learned she had breast cancer. Sherrie experienced "every gruesome side effect in the book," Wraspir sadly recalled. "To watch Sherrie go through the drama she went through...was vicious."Sherrie's experience motivated Wraspir to participate in Susan G. Komen's 5K Race for the Cure.Then Wraspir's mother contracted breast cancer. Though she is celebrating her third year as a survivor, Wraspir is still haunted by how the disease debilitated her, how she became a "sunken, skeletal, shadow of a person." This transformation led to "deep-seated feelings that I had to do something more," he said.A SUPPORTIVE GROUPFor this year's Seattle Breast Cancer 3-Day, Wraspir will walk as part of Saving 2nd Base, a team that includes his sister and his cousin Sherrie, who celebrates a milestone this year. "What better way to give back to Komen and to help those who've supported me, on my five-year [anniversary], than to walk this inspirational walk?" Sherrie said. Sherrie is walking for a close friend from her support group who relapsed less than a year after remission. Wraspir doesn't sugarcoat the rigors of participation: The 60-mile walk is the longest of its kind. The event is the culmination of several months of intense physical training and fund-raising. (Every 2008 participant must raise or personally contribute at least $2,200). Participants will walk an average of 20 miles per day. Meals, showers, tents and 24-hour medical support will be provided.At night, participants can enjoy entertainment, karaoke and physical rest in two-person tents. "We are all there to make each other succeed," Wraspir said.Walkers aren't the only ones who can join this community. The public is encouraged to support walkers by attending opening and closing ceremonies as well as cheering for them at specific stations. Recalling an elderly lady who was particularly generous in dispensing hugs at one of the cheering stations, Wraspir gushed, "How can that not rekindle your passion and tell you you're doing the right thing?"FUNDING FOR THE CUREEvery three minutes, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer; every 13 minutes, another woman dies of it, according to the Breast Cancer 3-Day's website. In the United States, one in eight women suffer from breast cancer; in Washington state, that ratio is one in seven, Wraspir said.Eighty-five percent of the Breast Cancer 3-Day's net proceeds will go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which will in turn use the funds for breast-cancer research, treatment, education and prevention; 15 percent of the net proceeds will go to the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund to support breast cancer initiatives. Together with the Komen Race for the Cure, the Breast Cancer 3-Day has raised nearly $1 billion since its inception in 2003, making it the largest source of nonprofit funds committed to battling breast cancer. For more information about the Breast Cancer 3-Day, go to www.The3Day.org.[[In-content Ad]]
