Editor's Note: NewsChannel 2 anchorwoman Wendy Chioji is grateful to all of the viewers who have expressed their best wishes as she wages her fight against breast cancer.

Chioji has chosen to use WESH.com as her way of keeping the public updated on her health. New diary entries will be posted periodically.

BREAST CANCER INFORMATION Four Steps Promote Early Detection WENDY'S DIARY Oct. 31: Ride For The Roses Oct. 24: Another Cycling Weekend Oct. 18: An Emotional Finish Oct. 17: Singin' In The Rain Oct 16: Rally In Indianapolis Oct. 15: Chilling In Arkansas Oct. 14: Monster Crosswinds Oct. 13: Tailwind To Texas Oct. 12: An Uphill Climb Oct. 11: The Race Begins Previous Diary Entries WEB LINKS Florida Hospital mammography locations Complete Guide For Breast Cancer Breast Cancer Decision Guide Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation National Breast Cancer Coalition American Cancer Society National Breast Cancer Coalition INTERACTIVE Breast Cancer Survivors: Share Your Experiences Meet Other Breast Cancer Survivors

Folks around Orlando made the most amazing statement about their support of the fight against breast cancer last Sunday.

The City of Hope organized its first ever 5K run-walk to raise money for the City of Hope Hospital. A lot of research into AIDS-HIV and breast cancer treatment goes on there. You may be familiar with its Workouts for Hope, which were huge in the mid-90s.

Anyway, organizers were hoping for a turnout of about 500, being a first-year event and all. But 1,110 people came out to the Fashion Square Mall, and they raised $70,000. I was stunned and happy about that. With support like that, it's only a matter of time before doctors find a cure and better treatments for breast cancer.

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TOUR OF HOPE PREVIEW See Wendy's Pictures

I didn't run the 5K, seeing as I'm afraid I'll fall in a pothole and break my leg before the Tour of Hope (not that I've ever fallen in a pothole while on a run, but you never know). Instead, I drank coffee, ate bagels and got a massage. It was a very nice morning -- until 11 a.m.

Coach Ivana had scheduled me for a four-hour ride on Sunday, so I had to be very crafty, to try to trick any of my cycling friends to ride very late in the day, which as you know is miserably hot, especially on a bike in Clermont. I was in luck. Kathy and Brian wanted to ride the Great Floridian Half-Ironman Course, and they reluctantly agreed to start at 11 a.m., which is usually about the time they're finishing.

Dave, from David's World Cycle, had already said he would ride late, and he came along, too. It was a tough course because all the hills seem to start at mile 40 (out of 56). A very cruel trick on the triathletes, I thought. We got back to the parking lot at 2:30 p.m., and Dave was nice enough to agree to go back out for 90 minutes more in even hotter weather. It was the Bataan Death March on Highway 561.

Of course, since I was involved, we took a wrong turn and it took even longer to get back. I don't think Dave will volunteer to ride that late with me ever again. Of course, I never plan to ride that late ever again.

And new this week from Ivana: Two-a-days. That means I ride in the morning, then, ride again in the evening. It helps condition me to the sleep deprivation and lack of full recovery between rides. I did the first one last night, so while most folks who were still up were watching Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien, I was doing hill-acceleration intervals on the bike trainer in my living room, with old Deep Forest on the stereo.

And I got up early to ride again. This week, I'll get way over 300 miles on the Trek, I think.

Also this week, I got to talk on the radio, about the Tour of Hope mission to teach people about clinical cancer trials. I was on WLOQ on Monday. I'll also visit 102 Jamz, Mix 105.1 and XL 106.7 soon. That's what's on the schedule. It's been fun to talk about this event. I feel it's really important and powerful, and it gives everybody a real opportunity to make a difference, as researchers try to find a cure for cancer.

Don't forget to sign the Cancer Promise at www.tourofhope.org. We want to bring 1 million of them to Washington. Check out the Web page if you haven't been there for a while. There's lots of new stuff on it. Until next week, good thoughts (and no headwind).
Wendy
Sept. 19, 2003

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