The Susan G. Komen Speech by Kristin Knerr

A dear friend of mine, Kristin Knerr, was diagnosed with cancer fifteen months ago. She has survived it and is still with us to share her life, her laughter, her smiles, her joys, her story with us. Sadly, many, many others who fought with cancer are no longer here to share their stories. Kristin recently spoke at an event called the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I believe her story should be shared with all so that a cure for cancer, regardless of stage, could be found as soon as possible.


I'm a little nervous that I'll make a goofy face or that I have something stuck in my teeth, or a prosthetic could end up around my knee cap. You never know when that could end up on a billboard all over town.

I'm not much of a public speaker but I'm going to give it my best here..

I have to say that sometimes it's hard to talk about my cancer. Some days I don't want to think about it at all. But to stand up here, and speak about it in front of hundreds of my own heroes, is such a tremendous privilege. It's overwhelming because I KNOW the power of a survivor and I feel united with all of you.

I would like to just take a moment to remember the men and women who are NOT here today. To our warriors who did not make it through the battleground and to those who are too sick in the fight today to be here with us. I acknowledge those of you who are here today, walking in the memories of someone you love.

Sending out peace and love to all of you.

My name is Kristin and I am many, many things. One of the things I am, is a cancer survivor. I was diagnosed with stage IIIc invasive Ductal carcinoma 15 months ago. My story of treatment and survival is most likely much like yours.

I think the unique part of my own journey has been the fact that I did not live here at the time I was diagnosed. I had been living and working in Mexico for years and was here in Washington to visit some friends for ten days for Christmas. On the third day of my visit, I'm the one who got the surprise and was diagnosed with cancer and told I could not return home.

In the course of a 15 minute phone call, my life was erased. I was wrenched from my family and friends, I lost my home,  and all I had worked for. I was separated from my daughter and precious grandson. And could not reach out for the hand of a friend when I was afraid.

With  a tremendous faith and hope, and a simple stubborn refusal to give in or give up, I have survived cancer and treatment and have made Spokane my home. I am so very proud of all the people who have walked with me here through this truly incredible journey.

I had noticed a lump in my breast two years before my diagnosis. I had numerous mammograms and ultra sounds in Mexico but all of those tests revealed nothing. I was first told I had a cyst and that women get them all the time and I shouldn't be concerned about it. When I continued to insist that something was wrong with me, I was deemed a hypochondriac and put on Xanax. Because of poor, faulty equipment and the lack of a trained physician who could actually read the film, I became a stage IIIc hypochondriac. Yes folks, this tragedy still happens all over the world, even today.

We need to put an end to Stories like mine. Why am I running? Why am i standing here, telling my story?

Because I believe that my life has been spared so I can stand here today and add my voice to yours in the fight against cancer. I believe in fighting for prevention and early detection. i believe in fighting for better treatment options, for better, kinder therapies, i believe in fighting for a higher quality of life for survivors, better support for our families and I believe in fighting for a CURE.  When this race is over today, I will still be running and I will run for the rest of my life. Let it count for something.

The most important lessons i have learned are that God loves me more than I understood.  I found strength i didn't know i had, i found that i am much more loved than i ever knew before, i found comfort from strangers along the way, hope and support through other survivors, and gained a really rowdy group of cheerleaders who did not leave me before the finish line. (WHERE ARE YOU GUYS )

My peeps, the ones who never let me quit and the ones who make me laugh when life just sucks. i love ya. I hope you know just how much you mean to me and how much better this world is with all of you in it. You truly make my life, worth living.

Thank you to Susan G. Komen for changing the direction of my journey and for the incredible support and opportunity to speak out. Thank you to all the local sponsors for caring and supporting the people that make up this awesome community. Thank you to the medical teams, our nurses, and our local hospitals. I'm going to insert a huge thank you to Lake City physical Therapy for putting me back together again. You girls are like Humpty dumpties men. Spokane just rocks!

To all my sisters in the fight, Dig deep. Fight hard. Be fierce!

To the rest of us, lets go take a walk!