Sentinel The Shorewood
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Enterprise Publications • www.shorewoodsentinel.com
WALK N FOR A CAUSE
By Sherri Dauskurdas Staff Reporter
SHOREWOOD RESIDENT, FRIENDS TO WALK 60 MILES TO RAISE MONEY FOR BREAST CANCER RESEARCH
early a decade ago, as Shorewood resident Jill Hoffman put her children on the school bus, took them to their little league games, and to church on Sunday, she did so with the company of a good friend and neighbor—Jodi O’Brien. “Our kids are the same age.We both go to the same parish,” said Hoffman. “Our husbands have been coaches of the kids teams, and we’re usually sitting in the stands together.” Today, that longtime friendship has turned to support for O’Brien, who is now battling Stage 2 breast cancer. Diagnosed in March 2011, O’Brien, an officer with the Will County Sheriff’s Police, has undergone six months of chemotherapy, a mastectomy, and six weeks of radiation. During that time, she also had several additional surgeries to remove internal infections under the mastectomy site. Right now, she is in the process of preparing her body for reconstructive surgery. “Throughout this journey, just as her physical body needed care, her feelings and emotions needed care too,” said Hoffman. “A cancer diagnosis is hard to take and having cancer is not easy.” Hoffmann and other friends and family members were by Jodi’s side, helping with the family’s three teenaged children, offering support where they could. “She had only told a few people, but as word spread, she got support from more friends and parish members.” said Hoffman. “The kids are stepping up and doing more for the family as well. They are going to do whatever it takes to get mom through this.” But for Hoffman, the reality of the disease gave her a chance to
Vol. 17 No. 22
“Sixty miles is a huge task, but compared to what Jodi has gone through, it’s nothing,” Jill Hoffman, friend of Jodi O’Brien
Jodi O’Brien
look at the bigger picture, at all the families like O’Brien’s who have been affected by breast cancer. She wanted to do something more. So Hoffman and five other women, including O’Brien’s teenaged daughter Molly, will join thousands in the 2012 Susan G. Komen Chicago 3-day, a 60-mile walk to raise money for the foundation, and breast cancer research. Held in August, the 3-day endeavor takes walkers on a trek of 20 miles each day, camping out overnight in pick tents, all in support of a cause that has touched so many. Already the women are training with a See WALK, page 24