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Bras for the Cause
Downtown fun walk helps serious battle

You could just make your mom proud by walking down Main Street in your underwear next Saturday night.

It's the seventh annual Bras for the Cause Breast Cancer Walk, being held in Pleasanton on Mother's Day weekend, beginning at 7 p.m. May 12 with a 5:30 p.m. check-in. Hundreds of participants decorate bras to be worn -- outside their clothing -- for the leisurely paced, 10-kilometer walk in the moonlight.

It's a "group of spirited, supportive sisters and brave bothers. Yes, men have to wear a bra, too," said a press release from Tri-Valley SOCKS (Stepping Out for Cancer Kures). "We have an event that is unique and exciting, with a very compelling purpose -- to find a cure for breast cancer now."

The 2012 walk honoree is Letty Najarana, who, at the age of 35, while she was undergoing fertility procedures, was diagnosed with invasive ductile carcinoma in the right breast with an 80% chance it would spread to her left breast. She underwent a double mastectomy a month later and also had 22 lymph nodes removed.

"Although everything that was happening to me seemed so overwhelming, I chose to have a positive attitude and fight with all I had in me," Najarana said.

"Of course there were days when I felt sad, scared and angry," she added. "I let myself go through all the emotions but tried not to stay in that dark place for too long."

She also credited her family, friends and co-workers with the success of her fight against cancer after her treatments officially ended a year ago.

In the last six years, the Bras for the Cause Walk has raised more than $655,000 toward the fight against breast cancer. Proceeds from this year's walk go to the Tri-Valley's Axis Community Health Center, UCSF's Helen Diller Cancer Center, and the San Francisco Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. As always, 100% of the money goes directly to the beneficiaries.

To register as a walker, visit www.trivalleysocks.org.