We are thrilled to introduce everyone to the newest member of Relentless Optimism - Maria Barredo!
Maria is an old friend of a few members of Relentless Optimism from back in the day. Unbeknownst to all of us, Maria had registered to walk in the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure in Boston 2010 - just like us. When we learned that she was planning to walk as an individual, we immediately insisted that Maria join our team and we are thrilled that she accepted!
For Maria, the fight against breast cancer is a personal one. Maria's family has a very strong history of breast and ovarian cancer. When Maria was little, her mom was diagnosed with Stage III ovarian and breast cancer. Thankfully, her mom survived and has been cancer free for over 20 years. While Maria's mom survived her battle, too many other members of their family did not, including Maria's Aunt Sandy who passed away from ovarian cancer in 2007. Following her Aunt's cancer diagnosis, Maria went into overdrive to learn more about her family history. Maria began seeing a genetic counselor and at the age of 25, Maria learned that she is BRCA1+, putting her at a high risk for developing cancer at a young age. Maria's destiny was in her own hands. As she says, her like was suddenly split in to two parts: her life before and her life after knowing her genetic fate. When we all take to the roads in Boston this July, it will have been one year since Maria took the first step toward taking control of her own destiny. We will all be walking with Maria as she takes the first step towards her future... a future without breast cancer.
Maria says that she is humbled to participate in this walk while honoring the spirit of survivors and cherishing the memory those that we've lost. We are very lucky to have someone like Maria on our team for the 3 Day and we're looking forward to walking with her in July!
Maria looking pretty in pink!
If you would like to donate to Maria, you can do so on her 3 Day fundraising page which can be found here. We have also added a link to her page in the right hand side bar.
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