Date: 2006-10-29
To: Righty makes the 11pm news
Miles today: 0.0

Hey everyone,On Thurday evening when my phone rang at 8:15pm PST and mom said, "hi" on the other end, I was instantly worried. It was 11:15pm east coast time, way past mom's bedtime. I felt a pit in my stomach as I asked, "Is anything wrong, mom?" Mom said, "Everything's okay. I just got done watching the 11:00 evening news.......and our story was the Lead Story!" Mom filled me in on all the details and let me know that there would be a streaming video of her segment by Friday. Friday, about 6pm mom called me at work and said the video was up. I rounded up my remaining colleagues in the office and we gathered around the 2x2 inch streaming video picture. What a proud moment. Myrtle Beach News 13 did a great job. The video may still be up for another day or two. Thought some of you may want to check it out. Goto http://www.scnow.com , find the video center in the upper middle part of the site, and scroll down the video segment titles until you see "Breast Cancer Survivor".......UPDATE:VIDEO NO LONGER ONLINE. WE'LL BUY THE VIDEOCLIP AND YOUTUBE IT EVENTUALLY. Fun, fun, fun! You go mom!-LeftyP.S. Below you will find the online article for the TV interview which is no longer available..Breast Cancer Survivors Conquer the Appalachian TrailThursday, Oct 26, 2006 - 10:52 PMMichelle CarollaReporterAs Breast Cancer Awareness Month continues, people across the country remember lost loved ones. Susan Arzberger of Myrtle Beach survived breast cancer and so did her daughter.So they decided to bring awareness in a different way, by living out a shared dream.They shared a dream of walking the Appalachian Trail, all 2,175 miles of it. This is a mother-daughter team that not only conquered a deadly disease, they conquered their fears.43 maps and 14 states later, however, they are home. They started out in Georgia and six months later, ended up in Maine on Mt. Katahdin. ¢This is the final, final and it was a lot of tears of joy really. It's the end. It's what you'd been working for for six months, said Arzberger.Susan, her daughter Kelly and her son-in-law set out in April on an adventure of a lifetime. Crossing rivers, crawling through caves and carrying several pounds of food and water.One of Susan's dogs also walked for about 200 miles, before deciding the comforts of home were much more appealing. Susan is 12-years cancer free. Her daughter Kelly, who was diagnosed three years ago at age 31 thanks early detection for saving her life. After finding a lump, her doctor wouldn't test her because of her age. ¢So she went back the next day and said you know I can't accept that. My mom had breast cancer. I need another opinion and I need to do something,¢ said Arzberger.A sonogram found a very aggressive cancer, now she's three years cancer free. The family realizes how fortunate they are to be alive. Finishing the Appalachian Trail on October first, the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month was a moment of triumph they will never forget.Susan and Kelly raised more than three-thousand dollars on their walk. Susan works for Walmart, which doubled her money to six-thousand. She plans to donate the money to the Caring In Our Lifetime group in Myrtle Beach that assists people with cancer that are uninsured and underinsured.Susan says she still plans to hike. Whether she'll tackle another trail as huge as the Appalachian Trail is still up in the air.