PARTING SHOTS

The Nile River

Margot and Christina getting their groove on at the Bedouin Tent dinner

Christina and Yale, an incredible staff member!

We fell in love with the camels and wanted to bring one home - Tom probably wouldn't approve of that! Group of ladies

Some of our Texas friends and Christina's adopted parents - Jeanne and Joe from Houston

Sarah from Dallas always with a smile

Margot and Jayne - thanks for making us laugh!

Smooching with the Sphinx, he's a little old for me

We met Wendy in the wee hours of the morning at London airport at the ticket kiosk. Christina looked down and saw her Komen luggage tag and it was an instant bond. She is now adopted family. A Tennessee girl living in London now. Get the guest room ready, sister, because we will be visiting!!

A Fond Farewell

Entrance of the Bedouin Tent

Watering the camels...get it?

The incredible staff for Susan G. Komen

Wendy, Linda and, Christina

Us with Jason Recher, an incredible Trip Director

Picture a clear night in the desert, not a soul around and the Pyramids standing statuesque in the distance and a brightly lit Bedouin tent! (Don’t feel bad, I didn’t know what one was either. A Bedouin tent is a place of rest in the desert that serves food, water, and sleep to travelers and guests for up to three days). This was our farewell dinner and conclusion to a fabulous week! It was quite an experience that ended up being one of our favorites of the trip. After entering the closed gates of the pyramids, we wound around sand roads in pitch black until we saw fire lanterns burning as we approached this massive, beautiful red tent in the middle of the desert. We were entertained with dancers, Arabian horses, a full band, and of course camels rides! Many friendships and long-lasting bonds were formed during this experience and spending the last night reflecting with these new friends surrounded with wonderful food and drinks was the perfect way to say goodbye. Delegates shared their thoughts and future plans and the staff got a chance to relax after a challenging week. We came together as strangers and five days later left as close friends whose lives will be forever touched. We can’t wait for the reunion!

After having an inside view of this organization, we can honestly say, there is no better organized and mission focused group than the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. We encourage you to get involved and donate in any way you can. It is incredible what a group of women (and men) can do with the same goal in mind and that is to end breast cancer around the entire world.

New Beginnings

Staff member at BCFE giving an interview

Our next stop was the headquarters of Breast Cancer Foundation for Egypt, whom Susan G Komen partnered with to put on the Race for the Cure. The BCFE was celebrating their grand opening of a Patient’s Services unit! BCFE has been working relentlessly to provide education and support to women diagnosed with breast cancer. Their office was on the 9th floor of a building that was quite interesting. For a mental picture: Coleman coolers stacked to the ceiling at the entrance for sale, trash and dirt throughout, and an elevator that had a slight resemblance of the Tower of Terror ride at Disney World. The elevator didn’t have a door that closed, so the walls could be seen (and touched if you were feeling risky) as you were riding. This description serves a purpose, because once we arrived to the office of BCFE, it was a calming oasis. Pink tulle, brand new office equipment, informative pamphlets in Arabic and an incredible staff led by Dr. Shaalan! This is a place where women can come without feeling shame and gain support, education and even exercise classes for Lymphedema. Some of our newest friends on this trip are members of a group called “LINKS, ”a network of service-oriented professionals. They had provided a grant to the BCFE to start a prosthetic program for these women. It was a delight for them as well as us to see the fruits of their donations. This was a big day for the BCFE office with lots of media coverage and they were so grateful for the support of Susan G Komen Foundation. They even presented all of us with a beautifully wrapped crystal pyramid. With all of us crammed into their small offices and enjoying all of the festivities, they were still seeing patients. After a presentation and interview for media, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch with the staff and other various regional advocates before leaving for the National Cancer Institute.

The National Cancer Institute was an extremely emotional experience and something very hard to explain. We first gathered in the auditorium for a quick briefing with various hospital directors and doctors, whom I will not even begin an attempt to spell. The NCI receives around 100,000 new patients per year with over 200,000 patient visits per year. There are total of 600 beds available for treatments, which is also provided free of cost. Most of their budget consists of donations. The Dean of NCI said the most encouraging words I had heard all week, “In the past 2 to 3 days, Cairo has come out and talked more about cancer and breast cancer than it EVER has in the past.” We then separated into small groups and took a tour of the hospital. It was a sight that will stick with the whole Delegation for the rest of our lives. The floors were dirty with spills and mud, roaches crawling on the beds and stairs, medical charts in piles that were running off counters, hundreds of people crowded in rooms waiting for treatment. We passed out our heart pillows to women undergoing chemo in an area as small as some of our closets. Our brightly colored pillows brought a little light to a dark and desolate area. After our tour, we had a de-briefing and some Delegates had some wonderful suggestions including improvements to the volunteer program and toy donations. Although this was a powerful and ground-breaking week, there is still much work to be done in the Middle East.

Ancient Treasures and New Toys

Susan Carter Johns, Vice President, presenting Dr. Hawaas with a pink tie after his presentation

Linda getting her book signed!

Christina with a new friend at the Children's Cancer Hospital

We were privileged to start our morning off with a breakfast presentation by Dr. Zahi Hawaas, Secretary General of Supreme Council of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. Many of you may have seen him on the History and Discovery Channels discovering treasures from the ancient Egyptian past, but perhaps he is most famous for his extravagant hats! At the Eve of the Race Gala Friday night, Ambassador Brinker presented Zahi with a bright pink cowboy hat in appreciation of him allowing us to light the Pyramids PINK! Dr. Hawaas spoke of the most exciting discoveries he has made and the opening of the secret door in the Pyramids happening in December, which will be featured on national television. After the presentation Dr. Hawaas signed his book, “Women in Ancient Egypt” for all of the Delegation.

After breakfast, we prepared for a long and emotional day visiting various cancer institutions in Cairo. The Delegation had been preparing heart-shaped pillows during our down time for women suffering through cancer treatments. The heart shape provides comfort for those with Lymphedema if placed under one's arm. We also filled goody bags with pink stuffed animals and various toys for the children. Our first stop was 57357, the Children’s Cancer Hospital of Egypt. This incredible state of the art hospital, built completely by donation, cost over $200 million! We had heard that Egyptians had a strong sense of charity, but this was proof! The childhood cancer survival rate in Egypt is estimated at 40% compared to the Western rate of 75-80%. The hospital opened on July 7, 2007, and offers services FREE OF CHARGE for all patients from newborn to 18 years. We were able to walk through the hospital, touring the facilities and spending time with the children. As we handed out simple toys to these kids, their eyes lit up like Christmas morning. Let me clarify what kind of toys: stress balls, toothbrushes, stickers, and small stuffed animals. Not Guitar Hero or the latest Hannah Montana junk. I’d like to think these simple toys brought some relief to the pain as the children sat in chairs receiving their dosage of chemotherapy. In the education rooms are computers; most families and staff have never even seen one! When family comes to visit the children, some are so dirty that the hospital provides clean clothing for visitors. Hospital 57357 is doing some powerful work in the lives of these children and their families, we were so lucky to see first-hand the fight against cancer throughout the Egyptian children.

The Melting Pyramid

Christina & Mohammed at the Nile

Linda sewing comfort heart pillows

Dinner at Ambassador Scobey's residence

The group sewing!

This evening we attended an outdoor dinner hosted by the US Ambassador to Egypt, Margaret Scobey, at her residence at the US Embassy to celebrate the success of the Race for the Cure and accomplishments of the regional advocates and US Delegates. Dr. Shaalan was in attendance with a huge smile on his face as he thanked the many people who helped make this week a reality. The Department of Protocol had assigned our seating with various embassy personnel and regional advocates mixed in with the US Delegation and Komen staff. The table discussion was very interesting as we heard about the Americans who live in Cairo and work at the US Embassy. One even had a daughter attending UT in Austin! Ambassador Scobey was so warm and invited some of us in her residence to see her art collection from various artists focused on the Mississippi River. The Ambassador is from Tennessee so this art collection was her Nile River of the USA. She surprised everyone after dinner with a special dessert – a pyramid of strawberry ice cream! On our way to dinner, we made a stop at the Cairo Museum for a private tour. It was surreal as we were the only people in the museum filled with ancient artifacts and mummies. The King Tut artifacts are breathtaking. The traveling version of the King Tut display is small compared to the vast amount of artifacts that were found in his tomb. We were then led into the mummy room filled with the famous ancient mummies that have been discovered in the Valley of the Kings, including Rameses II and Queen Hatshepsut. It was so fascinating and we could have spent days in the museum, but we had to move along so that we would not be late for dinner at the Ambassador’s house.

We returned to hotel and then went to the Delegates Workroom to do a little sewing on our heart pillows that we were delivering to the hospitals on Monday. The staff had all the supplies set up so that we could stop in during any free time to work on this project. We stuffed and finished piles of pillows during the week and it was a fun time to gather with our new friends, some even learning to use a needle and thread for the first time!

Race for the Cure in Egypt featured on CNN!

Check out the link below. CNN featured the Race for the Cure around the Pyramids in a wonderful short clip. Look for us at the beginning! Linda is wearing a Michelle's Angels shirt!

http://us.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2009/10/25/wedeman.egypt.for.cure.cnn

Saturday: Breaking The Silence

Over 10,000 participants racing around the Pyramids

This one is for you, Michelle!

Young Egyptians breaking the silence

Race Day finally arrived with a hotel lobby full of pink & white shirts and hats as the Delegation boarded the buses and prepared for the morning. The Komen staff had labored many long hours in conjunction with the BCFE group here for this big day. The crew had hoped for around 400 participants, but they were so pleased that the registration count was well over 3,000. Little did they know what we were about to see. As we turned the corner into the entrance road that carries you up to the pyramids, traffic was at a stand still. A sea of people were heading to the starting line. We were beside buses loaded with young Egyptian women with their head scarves and their race t-shirts on, all smiling and waving at us. Everyone on our bus just kept saying how unbelievable it was and we were speechless. The starting line was full of an eclectic mix of participants - young men doing their warm-ups, teenage girls in their matching pink head scarves, traditional women in their black burkas with their t-shirt pinned to their backs! And even more amazing was seeing the Egyptian women wearing the pink survivor shirts which meant they were no longer ashamed to say that they had once had breast cancer. They now estimate 10,000 participants were making history on race day and there could not have been a better historical backdrop to change history once again. This was a day that breast cancer was blown out of the closet in Egypt!