Why I Walk
A lot of smiles go with those miles

By Diana Rowden

Walking . . . a way to get from one place to another, a form of exercise, a way to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. All those years that I walked to get from one place to another or, later in life, to exercise, I never imagined that one day I could walk to raise awareness, much less money, for a cause that is important to me.

I enjoy walking. As a child growing up in a small community, I walked a lot. I walked to my best friend’s house to play. I walked to the dime store to see just what I could buy with 25 cents. I walked to school and in the summer I walked to the community pool.

When I spent a college semester in Madrid, I discovered that walking was actually a pastime—not just a way to get to class or a friend’s house.
In the early 1980s everyone was jogging or running for exercise. I tried it, but can’t say I ever achieved that runner’s high.

A minor toe sprain—sustained while making the bed—forced me to slow my jog to a fast walk. It was a lightbulb moment for me. I could walk almost as fast as I could jog. It didn’t hurt as much, and I could actually enjoy the scenery and think about things other than when the jog would be over.

In 1991, I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 38. The surgery—bilateral mastectomies with immediate reconstruction—went extremely well, and I couldn’t wait to get back to walking after returning home from the hospital. Walking proved to be therapeutic as I began to deal with the emotions that followed my physical recovery.

Walking gives me my private time to noodle over problems, watch the seasons change or dream about my next vacation. Walking makes me feel good, mentally and emotionally. It keeps me fit, more or less. And I believe it just may prevent another cancer from taking hold in my body.

In Spring 2003, it was announced that the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation would be a beneficiary of the Breast Cancer 3-Day—a walking event to raise money for breast cancer. Participants walk 60 miles over three days and they must raise $2,000 in pledges in order to participate. I wanted to do it. The thought of walking 60 miles was less daunting to me than raising $2,000—but I wanted to try. I roped a good friend, Jill Bee, into signing up with me. We trained and complained and discussed the finer points of proper hydration and blister prevention.

When I trained alone, I thought about how cancer changed the course of my life. My mother died of endometrial cancer four years before my breast cancer diagnosis. A few years after my diagnosis, my father was diagnosed with melanoma and in 2000 with colon cancer.

As I walked, I wondered what connection there might be between my cancer and my parents’ cancers. Perhaps my husband and I would have had children had it not been for my “cancer detour.” I do know that cancer has brought me many gifts: a curiosity about medical research, a career I love and many dear friends.

As Jill and I boarded the flight to San Diego for the 3-Day, we knew we were as ready as we would ever be. We had trained for five months, raised more in pledges than was required, and we were armed with Band-Aids, sunblock and spare shoes. But I was unprepared for the wave of emotions that washed over me as Jill and I completed the 3-Day event. We walked arm-in-arm, with tears in our eyes, weary, exhilarated and in disbelief that it was over.

Each 3-Day event closes with a victory walk. The breast cancer survivors are asked to gather to one side as we are to be the last ones to walk toward the stage. I found myself standing next to a young woman with short hair and a warm smile. She was only a year or so out from diagnosis; her smile grew wide when I told her that I was a 12-year survivor.

Once again I knew why I had walked—to see that smile.

Diana Rowden lives in Dallas, Texas.

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