Birdies For Breast Cancer: Golfing Towards A Cure

I will never forget the year 2002. Fans might assume it was a big year on the golf course - that my putts were falling better than usual, that I was happy with where I was in the rankings. But that's not why I so vividly remember 2002. The sole reason it stands out in my mind is because that was the year my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The moment when I first found out is still so fresh. I had just finished up at the U.S. Women's Open and I was in the car driving up to my next tournament in Canada. My mom called and told me that she had been diagnosed with cancer. I was devastated. I shut down emotionally and physically.

Thankfully she's in remission now; she continues to laugh the way she always did and, of course, still chimes in with ever-so-special motherly advice about my clothes, hair and make-up, the way she always has. But witnessing her struggle with this disease left me a changed person. Her strength, determination and never-ending optimism inspired me to take action.

In 2003, I founded a nonprofit organization called Birdies for Breast Cancer. Our mission is simple: to raise awareness about the collective struggle against Breast Cancer and to raise funds to help fight the disease.

I donate $50 for every birdie I make on tour and $100 for every eagle. We also have a pledge program set up where individuals can make a one time donation at Birdies for Breast Cancer or sign up to contribute every time either I, or one of my Birdies for Breast Cancer teammates, makes a birdie.

Over the years, we've made important strides in our battle. This past August, we raised $350,000 when we hosted a golf outing at Liberty National Golf Club that a number of the LPGA girls attended. To date, we've raised over $1 million. This past summer, we announced a partnership with LibertyHealth to create a new women's health center at the Jersey City Medical Center that will provide breast cancer screenings to the uninsured as well as the insured.

We still have a long way to go and we need help. This disease has touched the lives of nearly all of us in some way and we all need to take an active role in educating others and supporting advances in research. All women should speak with their doctors about breast cancer screenings and more importantly, speak with the other women in your family about medical history.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Our goal is to raise $10,000 in this month alone. If everyone donates even $5, the amount that they'd normally spend on a cup of coffee, we can collectively make progress and make a difference. Please visit www.cristiekerrgolf.com to make your donation and start making a change today.

Comments

[hollywoodyed]

As the mother of a junior golfer,a person fighting disability, and a friend and past caregiver of many fighting not only breast cancer, but many other types of cancers and terminal illnesses, I have come to find that caregivers and patients need advocates, caregivers and patients need resource guides and places to chat, and a place of community. One such place is Living Notes: http://livingnotes.ning.com/

[max08]

If you're serious about curing breast cancer, then you better do your part to have medical researchwith non-synthetic marijuana allowed again. President Ford outlawed it after the 1974 NIH University of Virginia study proved that marijuana is one of our greatest anti-tumor drugs ever. Ford thought the NIH study he ordered would help him bury the hippies. It didn't. So Ford outlawed the use of THC is any medical research, and removed the NIH study from all public and private medical libraries, public and private research hospitals, and the US public library system. Only one copy remains, and it's at the U of C, Davis campus. Reagan continued the ban.

Only synthetic marijuana is allowable in US medical research. But synthetic doesn't work. Google: The Greatest Story Never Told Counterpunch 2008
then Google: Alternet President Ford Marijuana NIH. Then, add Dr. Manuel Guzman to the last search string.

[lastpost]

“I donate $50 for every birdie I make on tour and $100 for every eagle.”

Everyone’s a winner.

[cheetahpea]

Christie,

I hope this post doesn't get deleted, but there are cures for breast cancer out there right now. They just aren't in the allopathic realm. One such cure is cannabis oil. Please research this, scientific evidence already exists. Watch Run From The Cure by Rick Simpson, and go to Phoenixtears.ca for more info as well.

[cheetahpea]

Christie,

Here is a link to some of the science behind cannabis oil for breast (and other) cancers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/19/AR2007111900834.html

[RMankovitz]

As a research scientist and author of several books on illness prevention, I have an issue with mixing a cure for breast cancer with the sport of golf, at least in the U.S.

Some of us in the alternative health field are of the opinion that cancer and many other chronic illnesses are likely the result of a genetic predisposition coupled with an environmental trigger. Our bodies are subjected to an onslaught of human-made toxic chemicals, and I devote a large section in my books to the topic of detoxification.

If you Google the phrase: "golf course toxic", you can find innumerable references to the fact that some golf courses are akin to toxic waste sites. They use large amounts of highly toxic insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides, and herbicides. Large amounts of artificial fertilizer also contribute to overall environmental pollution.

For anyone setting foot on such a golf course (or public park), it would be prudent to have a place to change clothing and shoes before entering your car or home. Golf clubs should be treated as toxic items. Otherwise, you might bring these toxins into your family environment, possibly endangering family members. Baking in a sauna after a game might also be a good idea to sweat out the toxins.

In an effort to clean up our environment, perhaps fund a program to create non-toxic golf courses. Some communities have already made the effort.

Roy Mankovitz, Director
http://www.MontecitoWellness.com

[cheetahpea]

Mr. Mankowitz,

Bravo for a great post. This is so true. Environmental pollution is probably the greatest single cause of cancer in this country. There are others to be sure, vaccines, GMO foods, radiation, etc. but the environment cannot be separated from the wellness we all seek. Clean food, air, and water is a must for good health. Thank you.

[MossyOak]

Excellent post. Fanned.

[witz]

Consider it done Christie, I'm going to the donation site now.

And kudos to you for being involved with screenings for the uninsured as well as the insured. Now if you could just screen my golf swing we'd be really truckin'.