do it."
Davidson's dad, Ben Craine, who
once owned a photography studio,
has been taking photos at the walk for
the past two years. Recently, he was
named "Official Photographer for the
Komen Walk for Michigan," Vicki says,
responsible for taking pictures of every-
one on the walk.
Meantime, Ellyn's husband, Jon
Davidson, who is in the steel business,
"takes care of the kids and cheers."
"It's the most organized event I've
ever attended in my life," Ellyn says.
"You stay in pink tents, and they have
good showers.
"You walk and you talk for three
days," she says. "You feel so accom-
plished by doing this."
"It's exhilarating," her mom seconds.
"We all cry at opening ceremonies. As
we walk, we laugh; we eat; nobody
complains. At closing ceremonies, sur-
vivors walk in wearing their pink T-shirts.
We cry again. Then we say 'thank good-
ness it's over for another year."
_ _
n11156.31i
_
,ret?
11.1.■
ww.
•
Above: "At the end of each day, our 'tent
city' is our home," says Cheryl Darmon,
who has trained, raised funds and
walked for each of the past seven ye
Right: Ellyn Davidson and her
mother, Vicki Crabte, also attend events
to help raise awareness of hereditary
breast and ovarian cancer in the Jewish
community.
Far right: Lisa Siegmann will walk for
CHERYL DARMON
No, Cheryl Darmon doesn't have the
itch to do something different. She will
walk 60 miles for the seventh year in
the Michigan 3-Day for the Cure.
"I thankfully have never had breast
cancer," the Farmington Hills wife and
mother of three says. The first year
I decided to walk was as simple as
`because I can.' I didn't think I could ever
bike 300 miles, run a marathon or swim
across a lake — but walking I could do.
"I probably walk for all men and
women but specifically so my girls
won't have to. My goal is to walk until
we don't have a need anymore."
In the early years, Ellyn Davidson
(see above) was one of her sponsors —
each walker has to raise at least $2,300
to participate. When Davidson devel-
oped breast cancer, Darmon walked
with Davidson's photograph attached to
her backpack. Now she and her cousin,
Gail Elkus of Huntington Woods who is
walking for the sixth time, are part of
Davidson's TaTa team.
The walk, Darmon says, "is an amaz-
ing coming together of people of all
ages, sexes, colors, religions ... and the
survivors. We all know that we are there
for the same reason but we all have dif-
ferent reasons for being there."
Darmon, 45, says from the moment
the walk begins participants are urged
on "by an endless, energetic crew [440-
strong, all volunteers], Harley-Davidson
motorcycle men and women decked
out in pink and streets upon streets of
cheering folks."
the first time in the 3-Day.
Over the three days, she says, "We
walk, talk and share with thousands of
people. At the end of each day our 'tent
city' is our home away from home. You
eat dinner and breakfast with people
you just met; you shower and brush
your teeth with strangers — and every-
one always smiles."
That includes people hobbling
around on blistered feet or suffer-
ing shin splints, says Darmon, a pre-
school teacher at Adat Shalom Early
Childhood Center in Farmington Hills.
Husband Paul Darmon, a Beverly Hills
dentist, shows up for the closing cer-
emonies with son Zach, 17, and daugh-
ters, Mollie, 15, and Sammi, 12, — all
in their "pretty pink T-shirts." He is very
supportive, she says, and had a gigan-
tic banner made for me that he holds as
we walk into closing ceremonies.
"It [the 3-Day] is the best and most
difficult thing I do each year," Cheryl
says. "You are constantly motivated on
by cheers and friends, and sometimes
the little 4-year-old holding the poster
that says 'Thanks for walking, you
saved my mommy!'"
How To Donate
To contribute to a participant on
Suz Cruise or TaTa teams, or make
a general donation, visit
vv-ww.the3Day,org.
Fast Facts About The Walk
•
The Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure is a 60-mile, three-day walk for
women and men who want to make a personal difference in the fight to .
end breast cancer.
*
Participants commit to raise at least $2,300 each and generally spend
several months training to prepare for the event.
*
Meals, snacks, drinks, shower facilities, tents, safety guidelines and
24-hour medical support are provided for walkers.
•
Since the 3-Day's inception in 2003, 15 different cities have held walks
and raised a total of almost $500 million to help pay for global breast
cancer research and local programs supporting education, screening
and treatment.
*
Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading 41
cause of death among women worldwide.
Tc
More than 1.3 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer glob-
ally each year. More than 465.000 die from the disease each year.
*
In the United States, about 200,000 women and 1,500 men develo
breast cancer each year; about 23,000 women develop ovarian cancer.
*
Jewish women of Eastern European descent are at increased risk for
the mutation that causes breast and/or ovarian cancer. That mutation,
which can be detected through genetic testing. causes breast and/or
ovarian cancer in 1 in 40 Ashkenazi Jews as compared to 1 in 800 in the
general population.
Source: Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
JN
July 29 • 2010
41