Supporterswill walk 60 miles from Del Mar to downtown
By Brandon Jenkins, City Editor
Thousands of supporters will walk the streets this weekend topromote breast cancer research, celebrate survivors and honor thosewho have lost their battle to breast cancer.
Beginning Friday and continuing through Sunday, supporters willwalk 60 miles, from Del Mar to Downtown San Diego, during BreastCancer 3-Day San Diego in hopes of raising thousands of dollars forresearch.
Biology senior Amy Ray Matchke will be participating in the eventfor the first time. She said more than 3,000 walkers are expected toshow up for the event.
“I lost my grandmother when I was 7 years old to breast cancer,”Matchke said. “My mom has it, and sooner or later, the way I see it -without the funds to research it and educate people about it and gettheir mammograms – without the money to do that, I’m going to get itor my best friend is going to get it.”
Matchke emphasized anyone can get breast cancer, including men.
“Everyone’s affected by it,” she said. “If you don’t have a closerelative, you have a friend who has a close relative. If you don’thave a friend who has a close relative, you have a friend of a friendwho has a close relative.”
According to its official Web site, www.breastcancer3day.org,40,000 lives among men and women are lost each year due to breastcancer.
Matchke will have a table set up between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. todayin Aztec Center to provide information about the walk.
Participants need to pay a registration fee of $80 beforehand andare also expected to raise $2,000 each. If participants cannot raisethe $2,000, they can pledge the remaining money themselves after thewalk is over.
Matchke said she plans on pledging whatever she can’t raise withher own money by December.
Onthe first day of the event, opening ceremonies will be held at theDel Mar Fairgrounds. Participants will then walk to Miramar, wherethey will camp for the night. The following day, everyone will walkto Mission Beach to spend the night. The last day, Sunday, walkerswill leave the beach and proceed to Embarcadero Marina Park near theGaslamp Quarter for closing ceremonies.
General donations or donations to sponsor individuals can be madethrough the Breast Cancer 3-Day Web site.
Eighty-five percent of the net proceeds go to fund the Susan G.Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, which has a 20-year history ofbuilding awareness and raising funds for breast cancer research. Theremaining 15 percent of proceeds will benefit the NationalPhilanthropic Trust in order to establish the NPT Breast Cancer Fund,which will provide long-term support for breast cancer in areas suchas research, treatment, education and prevention.
Interdisciplinary studies graduate student Paula Mu