Week two of Run 31. Every mile this week belongs to someone, and we’re adding each of their stories here as they air. Check back daily.

Their stories air weekday mornings at 8:45 on KAFE 104.1. The full schedule is at KAFE.com, and every dedication also lands on our In Case You Missed It page.

Monday — Anne

Anne has been cancer free for four years. When she was diagnosed, she had three tumors, bilaterally, of two different types of cancer. Caught early.

“I have been cancer free for 4 years and an example of if it’s caught early. My case is the reason for early detection.”

Anne wished she could walk a mile with us, but she’s waiting on hip replacement surgery. So we walked hers for her. Read Anne’s full story and hear our conversation ›

Tuesday — Aunt Starr and Aunt Rachel

Two women we never got to meet, both lost to breast cancer, both only in their fifties. Aunt Starr had two beautiful girls and perfect pitch — she could always hear exactly who was off key. Aunt Rachel was a mother of four and has fifteen grandchildren now, most of whom never got to meet her.

Their niece Rachael nominated them, and told us why it matters to her:

“If getting a mammogram keeps my daughter from telling this kind of story, it is totally worth it. I started getting them at 39 years of age. I’m 51 now and go every year.”

Read their full story and hear the dedication ›

Wednesday — Karissa

Karissa was 30 weeks pregnant when she found out she had breast cancer. She’s in her mid-thirties, a mom of two, and when we talked with her she was three weeks post-surgery from a double mastectomy.

Here’s the lesson she’s teaching her six-year-old:

“Just because I’m sick doesn’t mean we can’t be grateful.”

And Karissa is still in her first chapter. Read her full story and hear the interview ›

Thursday — Pam

Pam had just found out when she came on with us. A second mammogram, an ultrasound, and then the radiologist told her she has breast cancer. This isn’t her first time — twelve years ago she went through this, and her doctors say this is a different cancer than that one was.

She’s the one who got the news, and she’s the one reassuring the rest of us:

“I was expecting this. I am so good. It’s caught early — because I get my mammograms.”

Read Pam’s full story and hear her dedication ›

Friday — Michelle

Michelle did everything right. Regular mammograms, self checks, never skipped a year. But she has dense breast tissue and a slow growing cancer, and that combination hid it from every scan she ever had — for roughly ten years. She found it herself, when she noticed some dimpling, and pushed for more testing.

“My type of cancer hides on mammograms, and I think it’s really important women know about it. Because they don’t make that clear. Mine was missed on every mammogram I’ve ever had.”

Michelle finished chemotherapy in July, had a double mastectomy this summer, and is cancer free today. Her message: know your body, and push for more testing if you think something is wrong. Read Michelle’s full story and hear our conversation ›

Saturday — Tara

Tara is an oncology nurse with no family history of breast cancer. A routine screening mammogram found hers so early that she says the whole thing “wasn’t a big deal.” She had a mastectomy and is cancer free.

She also brought her custom 3D printed prosthetic into the studio and showed it to us on the air, which was a first around here. Tara told us more than 60% of women choose not to have reconstructive surgery after a mastectomy, and she’s become a joyful advocate for the options nobody talks about.

“You’re not flat like a road. You’re flat like an offroad.”

Read Tara’s full story and hear the interview ›

Come move a mile with us

We’re going all month. Run it, walk it, crawl it — treadmill, trail, a lap around the block with the dog. Any pace, any time of day. One mile is one mile, and it’s never too late to start.

Log your miles in the Run 31 Strava group, share them with #KAFERuns31, or text a photo to 360.676.5233. We love seeing them.

Run for them. Get screened for you.

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