I Love Boobies (seen at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure)

I Love Boobies (seen at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure)
There is a reason for every season under Heaven.

Today, June 9th, the Komen North Carolina Triangle organization held its annual Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure.

The event was held on the beautiful campus of Meredith College on Hillsborough Street just west of the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

For me it was just a normal day, which is to say I had no specific plan as to how I would approach the day. I started out with a little side job of weeding and then decided I needed some exercise for my ticker.

I had heard that there was to be a "Race for the Cure" at Meredith College so I decided I would take the Raleigh Greenway trail that goes from the North Carolina Museum of Art to the Meredith campus. I like to take the back way to avoid the crowds. I was in for quite a surprise today.

I parked near the art museum entrance just in case I needed to use the facilities. As I grow older I don't travel all that well.

It was a beautiful warm cloudy day. Because of the clouds, I decided not to have my shade on my camera. The clouds had some openings that I didn't know about.

As I was walking what felt like briskly toward the campus I found myself walking with a nice lady who was rushing to get to her volunteer position for the eight thirty races. Gail told me a little about her work at helping the clinics stay coordinated in their care programs. I hope to interview her about the work the Susan B. Komen fund is doing here in North Carolina.

As we walked onto the campus she suggested we take a short cut. I always do things the other way when I can. So we cut through the campus along the path least taken.

As we finally saw the crowd, we came out from between buildings near the potties. I was not the only person who apparently doesn't travel all that well. There must have been over a hundred porta-johns each with a line of twenty or so folks waiting to make themselves ready for the races.

Gail and I parted ways here as she needed to get to her station and I, well, I had to figure out what pictures would best show what I was seeing.

I noticed lots of signs on people's backs. Many of them simply said Mom. Some signs were in celebration of someone. I took that to mean the person had survived the disease. Other signs were in memory of someone. It was pretty clear that person hadn't survived.

The number of people out this day was staggering. I thought I heard someone say it was over twenty two thousand. It could easily have been that number or higher.

After noticing all the signs and the varied tee shirts that people worn to the event, I was quite bewildered as to how to report what I had seen.

So instead of a single report, I will try to share parts of the whole in the hope my approach makes some sense.

When I saw a young man wearing a tee shirt reading; "I (heart) Love Boobies"; it got me thinking about all the different emotions that people take to an event like this.

The Susan B. Komen Fund was begun because when Susan was going though her battle with breast cancer, much of the resources needed by patients and families did not exist. The fund provides much needed assistance to researchers, patients and families during the search for a cure. Most of the funds are given in small grants with specific goals in mind. It is a different approach to managing the problem of seeking a cure while helping those who are in need now.

Back to the tee shirt logo, "I (heart) Love Boobies". Statements like this get people not engaged to notice. Babies don't need statements to like the sustenance provided by their mother's breasts. It's sort of natural for them.

Young people like them for both the way they look and the way they make them feel. They form a natural issue and point of attraction.

Older people sort of get used to them. They form a natural attachment with some sentimental value.

Breast cancer is best known for the way it can transform a part of the body that is highly valued for its real and esthetic qualities into something quite different. Both my sister and my wife had their cancers when the solution was to remove the whole breast. They were old enough that it did not affect any teething children. They were not so old that it didn't affect them on a personal scale.

Focusing on the survival from cancer helped them cope. Though they never talk of it, the loss of breasts was not something they could be prepared for. This is something that the funds raised by the Susan B. Komen Fund help women deal with.

Research has not ended breast cancer, but it has allowed for surgical procedures that are less damaging to the body form. Now when a person needs to have material removed from the breast it is often possible to have a small portion removed.

One thing that Susan B. Komen Fund has provided that many women, particularly minority women, are not taking advantage of is increased access to mammography. Finding the lumps early can not only save a life, but it may also save a breast.