I am so excited and blessed to be part of this 2008 journey.

Thank you Tiffany and Travis for always supporting me in all my endeavors. I love you both with all my heart.

This is why I preach Early Detection....

I truly believe everything happens for a reason....In Feb 2005 I embarked on a four day ski trip with friends to Colorado that ended with a torn right ACL, bilateral torn medial ligaments and no Health Insurance. With a knee the size of a basketball, a co-worker suggested I try applying for benefits with the VA (since I am a veteran). I applied and a wellness check was part of the work-up. Since I had had a mammogram 2 years previously, there was not a hurry for another. My mammogram was set up for June at an off site facility(I love OU), I had my mammogram and left for a extended weekend with my son at SIFE Nationals in Kansas City. When I returned I had a message asking me to call for an additional appointment, they wanted a retake of the mammogram and a possible ultrasound. I had 2 areas they wanted to check out, one was a mass, the other was microcalifications. I later found out it was the order the microcalcifications were in that worried the doctor. I choose not to be biopsy at that time due to a trip to Mexico at the end of the week. When I returned I had a core needle biopsy and was later diagnosis with Ductal Carcinoma In Situ. The mass turned out to be benign but the microcalcifications were cancer cells. In July, I had a lumpectomy on my right breast followed by 7 weeks of radiation. This cancer was HER2+ and hormone receptive,  I just recently went off of Arimidex and Zolodex...wooohooo!!! 

 I have a passion to educate others, to bring about awareness and help those in need. Breast cancer has no boundaries, it affects the rich, the poor, it doesnt care what color you are, if you are a man or woman, young or old, or if you have insurance or not and if not caught early, it can be deadly.

Knowledge truly is empowerment and in most cases early detection is the key, so until we find a cure, education, self checks and mammograms are our main line of defenses against this dreadful disease. Early detection does save life's......I can't imagine where I would be now if I had not had a mammogram.

There are currently more than 2.4 million women in this country who are living with breast cancer, and more than 240,000 women will be diagnosed this year alone. One in seven American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes. Breast cancer can be an emotionally devastating and isolating illness and support programs like Amazon Heart and their partners are essential to women’s recovery. I want to support this and I feel strongly that my ride will truly be making a difference.

Funds raised by our ride will support peer support programs run by Amazon Heart and the Young Survival Coalition in the United States.

Please help and support this worthy cause. 

Thank you!

And a special thank you for the tremendous support from:

Fort Thunder Harley Davidson www.bryanharleydavidson.com and Harley-Davidson World www.harleydavidsonworld.com .

You are the best!!!

Michele Baker