Dipsea Hike for Breast Cancer Prevention & Awareness

Hello Team Illuminators,

On October 24, I'll be hiking the Dipsea Trail with Breast Cancer Prevention Partners and Zero Breast Cancer, and I'm asking you to join me in supporting a cause that is deeply personal to me.

I am a two-time breast cancer thriver.

My first diagnosis came in 2019. I was told I had DCIS, stage zero. I advocated for myself, asked questions, pushed for additional imaging, and ultimately made the decision to have a double mastectomy.

Then, in 2022, I found another lump.

I was told it was likely necrotic tissue. I was told I was being paranoid. But I knew my body. I kept advocating. It took five months before I was finally able to get the biopsy I had been asking for.

It was cancer. Stage 1.

That moment changed me forever.

Advocacy saved my life. It taught me that we cannot always wait for someone else to tell us that something is wrong. We have to know our bodies, ask questions, seek answers, and advocate for ourselves and for one another.

But my experience also left me asking a much bigger question: Why are we putting so much energy into treating breast cancer after it happens, while we still don't know enough about how to prevent it from happening in the first place?

That is why this hike means so much to me.

Breast Cancer Prevention Partners and Zero Breast Cancer are working toward a future where fewer people have to hear the words, "You have breast cancer." Their work supports prevention science, education, research, healthier environments, and action to address the factors that may contribute to breast cancer risk.

We need more research into prevention. We need to better understand the environmental and lifestyle factors that may influence breast cancer risk. We need policies that protect our health. We need better education. And we need to make advocacy a part of the conversation, not something we turn to only after we receive a diagnosis.

I hike for every woman who has heard those words. For the women who are currently in treatment. For the thrivers and survivors who carry their stories with them every day. For the women we have lost. And most importantly, for the women who come after us.

I want a future where our daughters and the generations after them have a better chance of never having to become breast cancer survivors in the first place.

If my story resonates with you, I hope you'll walk with me, donate to our team, share this page, or simply start a conversation about prevention and advocacy.

Every step matters. Every voice matters. And together, we can move from simply treating breast cancer to preventing it before it starts.

With love and gratitude,
Shirin