This month is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and my sister-in-law, Karyn, is doing something special to kick it off: She’s walking the Breast Cancer 3-Day Benefiting Susan G. Komen for The Cure event in Washington, D.C., October 3-5.
The 3-Day walk covers 60 miles—20 miles per day. Karyn and her pal and walking partner, Jette (who did a 3-Day in Arizona two years ago), walk a planned route over a long weekend, break for hot meals provided by organizers, and camp out every night. Shower trucks and medical assistance are also provided. 
Jette (left) and Karyn, my sister-in-law. Here, they are training (thus the blurred action shot) for their 3-Day walk in Washington, D.C., which starts tomorrow.
A runner for several years, Karyn thought that the walk would be relatively easy, but training proved to be anything but a breeze. 
Victory belongs to Karyn! Here she’s just finished her second half-marathon.
“I was cocky,” admits Karyn. “I thought, ‘I can run for miles, I can [walk 60 miles]’, but I was wrong. Muscles started to hurt that I didn’t know would hurt. [Training for the 3-day was] is a major time commitment, and it’s been more challenging than I thought.”
Training for the 3-Day walk: it’s not as easy as some might think.
For the jewelry industry, October may mean participating in or even supporting events like the 3-Day, but for certain, October means promoting awareness jewelry, of which there’s no shortage. Jewelry designer Jane Basch is donating five percent of sale proceeds from several pieces to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Likewise, GK Designs and Mark Silverstein Imagines also make pieces where portions of sale proceeds benefit breast cancer research. Reminder: this is just a small sampling of all of the breast cancer awareness jewelry available! The web site Tikabou.com sells a great deal of it—I’ve inserted links for much of the jewelry shown here—and outside of industry, Bath & Body Works offers Cancer Vixen kits of body products where portions of sale proceeds benefit the cause.
Bath & Body Works sells Cancer Vixen kits of body products.
A 14k gold Jane Basch necklace features .25 cts. t.w. diamonds, a rose gold pink ribbon, and retails for $880.
A 14k gold Jane Basch dog tag necklace features a rose gold pink ribbon and retails for $330.
A 14k gold Jane Basch ring features .20 cts. t.w. diamonds for $1,200.
A 14k gold Jane Basch Heart Ring retails for $795.
A 14k gold Jane Basch arrow necklace retails for $950.
An 18k gold ring features .37 cts. t.w. diamonds and retails for $2,500 (many more styles are available). Mark Silverstein Imagines.
Dian Malouf created the sterling Go Girl ring as a special reminder for women to believe in themselves—during life’s happy times and when loss or illness occurs. The Go Girl ring reminds gals to hang in there, take charge, speak up, and that women can be very supportive to each other. The ring is just $66, and a portion of sale proceeds benefit the Baylor Health Care System Foundation.
As for Karyn, she’s certainly doing her part to help find a cure. Participating in the walk is a philanthropic move (she’s raised more than $2,000 to benefit breast cancer research) as well as humanitarian one; her grandmother died of breast cancer, and she knows four survivors. “I know women my age who have breast cancer, and I spend a lot of time being fit, so [walking the 3-Day] seemed like the right thing to do,” says Karyn.
Have you participated in a 3-Day walk, or purchased jewelry where proceeds benefit breast cancer research? Chime in on the comment function.
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