Why We are Doing This and How You Can Contribute

**UPDATE AUGUST 6th, 2010**

Linda and I have decided to extend this through October in order to take advantage of breast cancer awareness month and hopefully raise a little more money. Please stay tuned to this website, email and facebook for updates as we go through these next 3 months. Our final weigh in will be November 1st.

If you have any questions please feel free to email me at micmash57@hotmail.com

Also if you know any friends or family who be interested in joining in and supporting us please pass this info along to them.

For those of you wanting to make a lump sum donation please go to the following websites.


In the United States -- http://www.info-komen.org/goto/margaretfloyd
In Canada --https://www.cbcf.org/become/don_tribute_online.asp?direct=Prairies

For those in Canada please be sure to include my mum's name -Margaret Elizabeth Floyd- in Step#2 on the donation form. This allows the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation to keep me updated on what is being raised.

For everyone else donating on a per pound basis I will keep you updated of our progress between now and Oct 1st. Thanks again to all of you for your support.



Hello friends and family,

As most of you are well aware, I am overweight and have been for quite a few years. If I think back to what led me on the path of being unhealthy and overweight I would have to say losing my mum to breast cancer back in 1996 had a very significant role in my weight gain. A few years back I lost almost 50 pounds but shortly afterward gained half of it back. I know I have it in me to lose the weight and keep it off, but I have struggled to find the motivation. In the past year I have joined up with some girlfriends not once but twice in weight loss challenges, and actually just started in another one this month. While I lost a little weight each time it was not significant and I never continued once the challenge was over. Where am I going with this you ask? Well lately I have been thinking, and these are the 3 things that keep coming into my head.

1. My mum was first diagnosed with breast cancer in her early 40’s. She had a partial mastectomy and her cancer was in remission for a number of years only to return and spread. She lost her battle on November 21st, 1996 at the age of 49.

2. Earlier this year I found a lump in my left breast. After the discovery of another lump on the right side and many nerve wracking tests and appointments I was given the news there was no sign of cancer. I will be undergoing surgery sometime in the new year to remove both benign lumps.

3. I am tired of being overweight, tired of being the fat friend and tired of lacking the confidence to do the things I truly want to do.

The more these thoughts have circled through my head the more I have realized I needed to combine all three and do something good for myself as well as raising money to support a cause that is very close to my heart. I lost my mum when I was only 18 years old and it was devastating. I feel I need to do whatever I can to help so that others don’t have to go through what myself and so many others have. My mother in law Linda McClees has decided she would like to join me in losing weight and raising money. I am very happy to have her do this with me. So our proposal to you is this…

On January 15th we will weigh ourselves to get our starting weight. For the next 6 months, we will work hard to lose as much weight as possible. July 15th would be the final weigh in. What we are asking from each of you is if you will be willing to donate to the Susan G Komen Foundation (for those of you in the United States) or the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (for those of you in Canada.) There are two ways you could donate. Either sponsor us an amount per pound lost, or just a flat-rate donation of your choice. I am currently trying to find out how I could set up a website where I will keep track of our progress over this time frame as well keep track of what we raised. It would also include online donations that would go right to the foundations, (I know I can create a page on Susan G Komen) and at the end of our journey, I would like to send in the donations as one lump sum in my mum’s name. And just so you have an idea of what you would be donating if it was by the pound the max weight loss we would have combined would probably be in the 140 range.

I feel this gives us the motivation and push we need to get healthy and also helps me raise money toward finding a cure for a disease that has taken so much from me and so many others around the world.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and please let me know if you are interested in supporting us in this journey and we will keep you updated as I get a website and so on set up.

Yvonne and Linda McClees