Local women walk against breast cancer

Renee Wilson of Sisters knows about breast cancer all too well.

"I was diagnosed six days before my 41st birthday," recalls Wilson. "I was a single parent at the time so my first thought was 'How will I take care of my children?'"

Seven years after she received that life-altering diagnosis, Wilson is preparing to lead a team of four Sisters women - two mothers and two daughters - in the Avon Walk For Breast Cancer this September.

A variety of community-wide events are scheduled to raise support for the ambitious Sisters team.

Says Wilson, "I want to do whatever I can to help make the journey a little easier for someone else."

Wilson will mark her own challenging journey through cancer with 20-year-old daughter Rebecca Akaka by her side, in a two-day, marathon-and-a-half, 39-mile walk in Santa Barbara, California.

Joining them will be Laurie Francis of Sisters, and her daughter Ashlee Francis, 22.

The event is a serious fundraising commitment, not just a parade for awareness. Each member of Wilson's team, called Sisters 4 Sisters, must raise a minimum of $1,800 dollars to participate.

Following her diagnosis with "the Big C," as she calls it, Wilson tells how she was "sent home with a care package. It had chocolate, lotion, an eye mask ... and it had a video. I was alone that day so I watched it as soon as I got home. It was many women survivors, sharing their stories. It was so sobering and at that point I realized my life would not be the same."

Wilson looks back with amazement at the way she felt sheltered from fear.

"I knew the presence of God and his grace was with me," she said. "I had five surgeries, chemo, and every invasive procedure you could think of after the chemo."

At one point while she was undergoing treatment, Wilson's children got sick with the flu and her doctor warned her not to have close contact with them.

Wilson recalls, "My white blood cell count was too low ... I would be too weak to fight off the illness. I did get sick anyway and ended up at the hospital. I was frustrated because I could have been hugging and kissing on my kids anyway."

The greatest challenge to Wilson, who was once a runner, was the toll the chemotherapy took on her body. Recovery has been arduous and the idea of full physical restoration seemed elusive until recently.

"After chemo my body didn't know how to function anymore. My frame was wrecked; I didn't have any muscle, any strength. My back wouldn't stay in place and I was constantly re-injuring myself."

Today, Wilson is training rigorously for the upcoming trek and sees it as a means to proclaim and celebrate her healing.

Akaka, a college math major with plans to be a teacher, says she is eager to do the walk "with my mom, who truly is my hero."

Wilson is one of over 2 million breast cancer survivors in the United States alone. Another local survivor is Nadean Murray, who just took over the helm at Cork Cellars wine tasting room in Sisters last month.

Murray is joining Wilson's cause by hosting an open event at Cork Cellars from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, August 12. Maragas Winery will be on hand to help pour their local wines, which they'll be donating.

There's a $5 tasting fee and all proceeds from the evening will go to the Sisters 4 Sisters team. A "real fur" teddy bear valued at $150 will be raffled off as well.

Murray, who just completed her own treatments last December, calls her experience with cancer "life affirming." She invites "survivors and everyone else to come on down, have a glass of wine and celebrate life."

In a separate fundraising event, Metamorphosis Spa and Salon is offering a Spa Luncheon package valued at $275. Raffle tickets can be purchased at Metamorphosis during the month of August: $5 each or 3 for $10.

Wilson is running a promotion herself, at the business she and husband Gordon Wilson run, WG Trading Company (formerly Sisters Harvest Basket). Buy two private label items, get a third item free, and 25 percent of all proceeds go to the

walk.

Now seven years cancer-free, Wilson continues to be monitored by a physician every six months, and she doesn't intend to take her good health for granted.

"I should do this if for no other reason than because I can," she said. "What better way to show wellness than to complete a marathon and a half. That means I've made it. I've won this fight."