Every Step Brings Us Closer to a Cure!

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world: Indeed it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead (16 December 1901 - 15 November 1978)


I can hardly believe that in just a few short weeks I will be participating in the most intense endurance test I have ever done!


Last year I participated in the Toronto Weekend to End Breast Cancer and it was a profoundly life-altering experience. I cannot accurately describe the depth of my feelings. Despite the heat and minor sunburn on day one, and walking in the rain with a minor cold on day two, with assorted blisters, the loss of two toenails (they grew back), body parts chaffing in places I cannot mention, and every single muscle and joint aching and stiff, I was overwhelmed with emotion and spiritually soaring high. I really didn't care about the pain, though I am (in hindsight) hysterically amused by my attempts to climb a mere 14 stairs to my shower those two nights. I was and still am incredibly glad that I did it, humbled and grateful for the opportunity to participate.


If you know me, you know what a tremendous undertaking this is for me. A zaftig woman of surprisingly good health so far, I have spent 40-something years on this earth, many of them rather sedentary. You may not know that in my family tree you'll find the top ten tunes on the medical hit parade, including assorted cancers. My paternal grandmother was not a lot older than I am now when she developed breast cancer and underwent radical bi-lateral mastectomies. A dozen years later, she developed ovarian/uterine cancer which metastasized aggressively and took her life.


So I am undertaking this journey from what is possibly best described as enlightened self-interest: I have some pretty good reasons both to want to build a healthier lifestyle into habitual behaviour for the rest of my life, and to raise awareness and funding to support people battling breast cancer and the research to end it. This is a very significant personal endeavour, involving a long-range training regimen that began last winter. But it’s nothing compared to what hundreds of thousands of people face every year. Remember: one in every nine Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer - maybe even someone special in your life. And increasing numbers of men are being diagnosed with this disease as well.


I am walking again this year, to show my solidarity and support with these men and women, to help raise awareness and to support the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation. Last year, with the help of my sponsors, I raised nearly $4600 and this year I hope to better that. Each walker must raise at least $2,000 for the cause, but I have set my personal fundraising goal at $5,000. With your help, I can meet and even exceed it. The money we raise makes a real difference in the fight to end breast cancer and to bring breast cancer education, care and research to those that need it most.


Any and all donations are welcome and appreciated - even $10 makes a difference. However, if it is within your means, please consider making a larger donation. Sponsor me here for the 2008 Toronto Weekend to End Breast Cancer and together we can help to end this heart-breaking disease for good. Give generously and let’s work together to make cancer “history!”


Thank you for your support and your contribution to this cause.

Very Sincerely, Ramona Carmelly


"If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room." - Dame Anita Perella Roddick,DBE (23 October 1942 - 10 September 2007)

If you think this page contains objectionable content, please inform the system administrator.