Breast Cancer Awareness
MidState CrossFit - Breast Cancer Fundraiser
Our Mission Statement: “MidState aspires to be a community of continuous improvement, where every member feels welcomed and supported along their journey to “Better”. We aspire to be a place where community is not narrowly defined within the walls of our gym. We want to be part of the change that looks to bring “Better” to our community as well as ourselves.”
If we are going to “be a place where community is not narrowly defined within the walls of our gym” we have to use our platform to push forward what we are trying to accomplish here in our CrossFit Box, lifelong health. During 2022, we pushed forward the Sickness-Wellness-Fitness seminars, they allowed us to talk about how to define health. By using health markers such as resting heart rate, and advocating for skills such as being able to deadlift your own body weight we created a correlation between health and fitness. We also had an opportunity to talk about how being “fit” is a hedge against chronic disease. How we move from sickness, into wellness, and work toward fitness. There is one additional variable, of which we have little control over, and that is luck. Not good luck or bad luck, just luck, whatever it may bring.
This October, we focused on the kind of luck we all dread, cancer. We looked toward our mother’s and sister’s, their burdens and sacrifices. Four million women in the US are currently fighting a breast cancer diagnosis at this very moment. Making it one of the most common cancers in society. We did not want to look broadly to Pink this and corporate that, we wanted to take care of our community. Looking inward we are a gym of strong willed women and they deserve our love and spotlight. We often do not realize how lucky we are to have the opportunity to complete the workout of the day, everyday. Life can sometimes change on a dime. Our community is getting “Better” because of how we build each other up. Merced is getting better because we focus on families and building our own hedges against chronic disease.
The following bio's are from MidState members whose family members have been diagnosed and are being treated for breast cancer in 2022.
“Josefina was born and raised in Zamora, Michoacan. Moved to Merced at the age of 14. She is the oldest of 4 siblings. To no fault of her own and the burdens of the immigrant story she did not have the opportunity to finish high school. She worked in the fields to help her parents with money. She later married her husband at the age of 20, they have 4 children together. After life events and a divorce, she found herself as a single parent raising 4 children as a single parent. Night shifts in a factory, deep family ties, and faith are the constants in her life. She achieved the American Dream of retiring at the age of 65. She remains a strong willed woman, optimistic about life, and her faith is deeply rooted in her being. In March 2022 she was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma of the breast. Josefina has been positive and strong during this trying experience. Her children are always by her side. On September 13th, 2022 she finished her last treatment of radiation. Her children and grandchildren remain by her side and she considers herself blessed.”
“Dina Siriamphone is 35 and lives in Atwater with her husband and four kids. She and her husband met Freshman year at Golden Valley High School. He works nights as a manufacturing supervisor. She herself was a caregiver before her diagnosis. October 2021, she felt a lump on her left breast. October 13th, she was diagnosed with stage 3 triple negative invasive ductal carcinoma. In May 2022, she had a left lumpectomy and completed radiation therapy. Her second round of chemotherapy is to be completed in March 2023. She has a loving family and a caring brother by her side.”
Each one of these beautiful women will receive $500 in donations. They represent a member’s mother and a member’s sister. They are us, their stories are our own. We all know a hard working woman that fits one of the above descriptions. We hope they use the money for groceries as needed, gas tanks, a nagging bill, or a holiday. Thank you to everyone who helped make this donation possible.
#MidStateOhana means family, and family means that no one is left behind or forgotten.
- Lilo & Stitch
