Regina's Honorees

I am thrilled to be walking in honor of two wonderful friends, Angela and Jennifer, who are both valiant breast cancer survivors.

Angela and I have been friends since high school. She suffered a rare form of breast cancer and endured a double mastectomy and a difficult reconstruction only a few years ago. Her body rejected the first reconstruction and she spent 20 days in ICU and had to have a total of 17 operations. She is a gorgeous, spunky redhead and happily married with 2 beautiful children. Angela and I shared lots of crazy times together, and I have many fond memories of our enduring friendship. She taught me how to drive a stick shift in her Mustang convertible. She also nursed me through a very ill night after my 21st birthday celebration got a little out-of-hand! Angela and I shared an apartment after college. We often hit the social scene and spent dozens of hours seeing great live music and/or dancing the night away. We also had many long heart-to-heart talks that helped each other through young adulthood. She has come through some intense personal storms and has remained one of the nicest people I know.

Jennifer and I have been friends since college. She was diagnosed at the incredibly young age of 30. After a lumpectomy, chemo and radiation she has now been cancer-free almost 10 years! I couldn't believe it the day she e-mailed me about her cancer, along with a photo of herself completely bald and smiling from ear to ear (and looking as pretty as ever.) She is a witty and energetic beauty, happily married to a mutual friend from college, and has 3 adorable children. Jennifer and I were in the music and theatre program together. We were lucky to be a part of a close-knit group of creatives who was always on some kind of adventure or preparing for the next big show. Jennifer is a wonderful singer and comes from a very musical and funloving family. They were even on Family Feud! She is passionate about basketball, movies and is a kickbutt euchre player. I've always admired her sharp sense of humor. Jennifer is still very involved with breast cancer activism and support, such as Reach for Recovery, and has participated in many events herself.

I have known these incredible ladies from way back in my big hair days (which you can see by clicking on the photos above!) Little did we know then what difficult mountains they would have to climb. I am so thankful they have allowed me to honor them during this walk. They are my inspiration to get through this challenging trek, and help eradicate this dreadful disease forever!

Big love,

Regina Ruopoli
(Please visit my 3-Day Personal Page here.)