Taking steps against cancer

When Cindy Heisserer of Jackson was a little girl, she used to walk with her mother, Jane Bock. This weekend, Heisserer plans to walk a 40-mile marathon in Chicago in memory of her mother, who died in 1988 of breast cancer at the age of 48, when Heisserer was 16.

Heisserer, her mother-in-law, Betty Heisserer, and friend Heidi Hume, all of Jackson, are going to participate in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, a two-day marathon that will raise money for breast cancer research. Each participant is expected to raise $1,800 before taking part in the marathon. Heisserer said she has raised more than $2,600.

Waking in memory of her mother seems natural.

"When Mom was young, she got me into walking," she recalled. "We used to walk four or five miles a day."

Recently Heisserer saw a magazine ad for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, which began in 2003 and takes place in eight cities across the country from April through October.

"I saw this ad and knew it was something I wanted to do to help find a cure and honor her memory," Heisserer said.

Heisserer said she has been walking every week since she was 13. Now she's 33. As part of her training for the marathon, each week she increased the number of miles she walked.

She has worked herself up to 22 miles a trip. Her plan? Walking from her home in Jackson to Cape Girardeau and back. Recently she and her walking partners walked all the way to the river in downtown Cape Girardeau, a total of six hours. They didn't quite walk all the way back to Jackson that day.

"My husband came and got us," she said.

When she's not in training, she said she walks about 12 miles a week. To help her prepare for the marathon, Heisserer said she also does strength training and lifts weights.

The two-day event begins Saturday morning. After the opening ceremony, participants will walk 26 miles in a route laid out by a logistical team from the Avon Foundation. The second day they will walk a half-marathon of 14 miles, with the final mile known as the "pink mile," which leads the participants to the closing ceremony.

Some participants may not be able to walk the entire distance, according to the Avon Foundation. Participants are encouraged to walk as far as they are able, and volunteers will be on hand to pick up those who can't walk the entire distance. Heisserer and her team are planning to walk the whole 40 miles, she said.

Between the two marathons, participants will stay in an area known as "Wellness Village," where they will eat, sleep in tents, and enjoy hot showers and a massage. They can mingle with other participants, and be given information about breast cancer and related issues. Wellness Village is also where the closing ceremony will be held when the marathon ends Sunday evening.

Since its inception, Avon Walk for Breast Cancer events across the country have raised more than $60 million. According to the Avon Foundation, the foundation makes grants only to organizations and institutions with a tax-exempt status. Out of the foundation's 2003 expenditures, 69 percent went to mission programs and services, including grants, gifts and awards to beneficiary organizations, according to the foundation. Fourteen percent covered management costs and 17 percent was allocated to fund-raising expenses.

The mission of the Avon Foundation is twofold: women's economic empowerment and the breast cancer cause with a focus on supporting the medically underserved. In 2003, the foundation claims, $38.3 million was directed to the breast cancer cause, including education and awareness; screening and diagnosis, support services, clinical care and research. Figures for 2004 are not yet available.

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160