HEALTH & FITNESS

walk for survival

UNITED BY CANCER from page 39

llyn Davidson's Teaneral'a pictured at the 2009 event s-came in second in th

to last," she says.

Her celebration includes joining Ellyn

mastectomy and a year later had a full
hysterectomy, including the removal of

Davidson's Team TaTa and buying her

my ovaries," Bartholomew says.

whole family TaTa T-shirts. "My family

A goal became to walk in the 2008
3-Day for the Cure event both to prove

has been very supportive. My parents
will come in from Cleveland to take
care of the kids," she says.

She and husband, Tal, who will walk
with her, have been "in heavy-duty train-
ing since April" — walking four to 10

miles a day, three to four times a week

in the evening. "It's a great time to have
conversations together," she says.

But Tal Siegmann, who is director of
the Jewish Community Center Camps,

had to scale back once camp started.
"So, I've been on my own," Lisa says.
"I love walking. I listen to country

that she had recovered and to raise
funds for breast cancer research and
awareness.

"I was determined to do it," says
Suzanne, who was accompanied by her

new husband, Dr. Fred Bartholomew, an
obstetrician-gynecologist. Indeed, for

their June 2008 wedding, they asked
people to sponsor "Suz Cruise" — their

walking team of two — in lieu of more
traditional gifts. They raised $113,000.

fed. That qualified her for a clinical trial

at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak; the
trial has thus far proved successful.

"I have no measurable cancer in my

Davidson, 39, who found a lump

body," she says. "The drug they are
using targets only the cancer cells. But

in her breast as she completed six
months of breast-feeding her third

my tumor is so aggressive that I will be
on a form of chemotherapy for the rest
of my life."

child, was diagnosed with breast can-
cer three years ago. She tested positive

This year, 15 of her friends, includ-
ing three from Chicago, will be walking

alongside Suzanne and Fred, sporting
"Suz Cruise" T-shirts. "I'm so excited

for all my friends to experience it. Our
only concern is the heat.

"The walk was the most fantastic,
wonderful experience I've had," says

"I am continuously overwhelmed and
touched by the support and encour-
agement from not only my close friends

little kids" is always a challenge.

Suzanne, a Birmingham resident.
"It was euphoria. There were young

and family, but the community at large,"
she says. At press time, the Suz Cruise

"It's supposed to be a life-changing
experience," she says of the 3-Day.

people, old people. I was overwhelmed,
and I finished it."

team had raised $60,000
"I feel like I'm a miracle. I've told so

"You share with people who have gone
through the same thing.

They were all set for last year's event,
"just the two of us, when the week

many people that the importance of
these functions is [exemplified by] me.

"I don't think it's easy for anybody."

before I was re-diagnosed with Stage 4
metastatic breast cancer.

Without these kinds of events there
wouldn't have been this medicine, and I

"It was all over my body. I thought I
was writing my will not my [3-Day Walk]

wouldn't be alive."

music. Finding the time with three with

SUZANNE BARTHOLOMEW

It's Suzanne Bartholomew's third 3-Day
Walk for the Cure — well, almost.
The 37-year-old attorney, wife and

mother was diagnosed with breast can-
cer in 2006 and had a mastectomy on
her right side.

"When I received the information

that I was BRCA positive, I had a left

40

July 29 • 2010

Ellyn's mom, Vicki Craine, a Bloomfield
Hills resident, will turn 65 on the 2010
walk — their third.

donation. My 14-year-old stepdaughter,

ELLYN DAVIDSON

Caroline, walked with my husband in
my place. She was so honored. She
really stepped up."
Miraculously, Suzanne says, she is

While undergoing a chemotherapy ses-

planning to walk — if only half-days
— this year. Her cancer isn't estrogen-

Her mom responded, "If you can do
the chemo, I can do port-a-potties."

sion, Ellyn Davidson said to her mom:
"I'm going to do the 3-Day, and you're
going to do it with me."

for the BRCA2 mutation, passed down
through her dad's side of the family,
and elected to have both breasts and
her ovaries removed.

"I formed Team TaTa right after I fin-
ished chemo," the Huntington Woods

resident says. "I bought a treadmill the
week after."

Davidson, who is managing partner
of Brogan & Partners, an advertis-
ing-marketing agency in Birmingham,

chose TaTa for its double meaning. "It
is slang for breast, and it also means

goodbye as in saying goodbye to
breast cancer."

Just signing up for the walk, she
says, reflects a big commitment in

terms of fundraising and training. The
race itself "is physically challenging in

terms of your feet, but you can take
your time. There are sweep vans and
there's no shame in riding the van."

"I'm not a very athletic person," says
her mom, "but I walk the whole way.
My sister [Ellyn's aunt, who is 67] flies
up from Atlanta, and we share a tent.

It really makes me feel good that I can