Pink Tutu for the Breast Cancer Walk

Well, I did it, got myself involved in something again. At least this is for a good cause and doesn't add calories. In fact, it helps burn off a few (in my case, too few. It will take more than 1 5K to drop a pound or two off this tush). I am doing the Breast Cancer Walk in Gainesville, FL this month. Yes, I will be the one in the pink wig (short bob), pink feather boa, and pink tutu. Sound goofy? Yup, right up my alley. It started with a post on FB, someone said something about the companies making a lot of money on pink stuff, and it didn't matter anyway because most women die of metastatic cancer, not breast cancer. So, true to form, I lost my temper and wrote a few things (no, I did not cuss or tell her to kiss my butt) about early detection and "if I can give one person the courage to get a mammogram, another to do self exam, and another to see her doctor, I will walk a 5 K today, and tomorrow, and a 10K...in a pink tutu."

So there you are. I needed a pink tutu. Around Halloween. In my neck of the woods. Fat chance. Good thing I can sew. 

I made the tutu sort of like the quick half aprons I learned to sew back in 7th grade only this time using tulle (sparkly, of course) for the skirt and grosgrain ribbon for the waistband. Ties in the back to keep it on. Easy peasy. Worked up quick. I thought of elastic but I didn't have enough patience for making a casing, running the elastic, blah, blah, blah. Sometimes I am just into easy, get it done now. 

Not very sexy or smart looking but goofy enough to attract attention to a very serious subject.....promoting self exam for early detection. We designed our pink T-shirts, too, hands holding boobs, to promote self exam. The sad part of this is the more people I would tell about the walk the more people would tell me their stories whether the cancer was a family member or themselves.  Someone told me his mother had it but was afraid to go to the doctor for years. She died when he was a teen. The walk is not just a 5K with friends for a few laughs....it's personal. 

Much has changed in the 35 years I've been a nurse. Surgery is different. The chemo is different. There are more survivors. 

I can't do much to change how it was but I can raise awareness, even if it means wearing a pink wig and a pink tutu. Think of our team, The Majestic Melons, on October 25th. Donate if you want or just send good vibes our way. Give me a name and I write a memorial or honor ribbon so they can "walk" with me, too. 

Something tells me, though there will be a lot of others wearing goofy looking pink garb, too. 

Post by Eileen