Email
Print
Avon Walk is another step on her "journey"
Regan Hill
Carla Hearst plans to take part in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: October 16, 2009
Carla Hearst refuses to let her life revolve around chemotherapy, drugs and doctors. With stage four breast cancer, all three are a big — and unavoidable — part of her life.
But she would rather focus on the bowling league she plays in with her husband, riding her Harley Davidson, eating her mother's cookies and training for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.
She researches what she needs to eat and what she should talk to her doctor about.
But there comes a point, she said, when a person needs to stop focusing on the disease and start living.
"Not everyone's journey is the same," Hearst said. "I want to hold my end of the bargain. You are having fun in spite of cancer."
So far, Hearst and her best friend Amy Hayes have raised $6,000 for their 39.3-mile walk on Oct. 24 and 25.
St. John's Lutheran Church will hold a baked spaghetti dinner at 6 p.m. this Saturday to help raise funds for the Avon walk. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, a Fortune 500 financial services membership organization, is providing matching funds.
Battling cancer can force people to learn about the more important things in life, said Sally Neely Nix, who will be speaking at Saturday's event.
Through her work with Susan G. Komen Foundation and Livestrong Army, the Lance Armstrong Foundation and her own bout with cancer, Nix said she has learned about the importance of education.
"Be your own best advocate," Nix said. "I knew when I felt that lump."
Doctors can help guide their patients, but people have a responsibility to do their own research.
Nix expects to have a more personal connection with the audience on Saturday because she grew up in Statesville.
Hearst said she was drawn to the Avon walk because the money raised is quickly dispersed to the local community.
"It's hard enough without having to worry about whether your treatments are getting paid for," she said. "It's hard to think about anyone in that situation."
In 2008, the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Charlotte provided $375,000 for North Carolina Baptist Hospital, $300,000 for Presbyterian Hospital and $275,000 for Carolinas Medical Center.
Grants are awarded to local, regional and national breast cancer organizations to support five areas of the breast cancer cause, including awareness and education, screening and diagnosis, access to treatment, support services and scientific research.
Hearst was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2008. She said she worked with her physician to go through chemotherapy and radiation through February.
For two months, she thought the treatments had worked, until one of her lymph nodes started to swell. Hearst now knows that she has triple negative breast cancer, an aggressive form that affects 10 percent of breast cancer patients and is more likely to reoccur.
The cancer has spread into her bones and liver.
"The goal is to control the cancer," Hearst said.
The walking has helped, she said. So has her husband's cooking.
She tries to do something every day, whether it is walking or cross-training. Some days, she keeps it light and others she carves out a huge chunk of her evenings.
"I've enjoyed doing it," Hearst said. "I had to learn to eat and drink while I walk. You learn how to do more than one thing at a time. As a survivor, I was already active and I stayed active through the treatment."
Nix has done the walk herself numerous times. She said she knows what it takes to prepare for the event, which can last two to three days depending on its location.
"The difference is she is coming off of chemo and she is walking," she said. "How in the world can anyone complain about putting one foot in front of another when Carla is guiding them?"
Email
Print
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement
