Tehachapi News

Walking the walk

larger view larger view larger view larger view larger view

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but Stallion Springs resident Touraine Bellah decided she couldn't wait that long.

Since April of this year, Bellah, who does not have breast cancer, has been trying to raise at least $2,300 to fight the disease.

Why $2,300?

It's the minimum amount that qualifies her to participate in a 60-mile breast cancer awareness walk Nov. 20-22 in San Diego.

That's 60 miles, or 20 miles - the equivalent of walking from Tehachapi to Mojave - each day for three consecutive days.

Bellah, 39, has been actively seeking funds through her friends, her blog and her business, Bellah Design. She said she would donate 10 percent of Bellah Design's profits to breast cancer research.

She has raised $1,750 toward the walk, and currently strolls as many as 12 miles per day, six days a week. She even received an anonymous $500 donation.

“I just wish I knew who it was so I could thank them,” Bellah said.

Bellah has certainly been anything but anonymous.

“She's amazing,” said friend Sally Thoun, who was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago but has seen her condition improve. “I'm very grateful to have known her.”

It was just after Bellah decided to walk in the Breast Cancer 3-Day that she and Thoun met at Stallion Springs Church.

Thoun was delighted to hear that her new friend, who never had the disease herself, would spend the energy working toward breast cancer research.

“She is someone we should all look up to and want to be like,” Thoun said. “It wasn't even like her mom had it or her girlfriends had (breast cancer).”

But Bellah has had plenty to keep her worried.

Her cousin is currently fighting breast cancer, and her father has had his battles with skin cancer.

Her husband, Troy, suffered head injuries from multiple car accidents last year. He said he has suffered seizures, too, possibly resulting from those head injuries.

“Our life had just turned upside down,” Troy said. “But while we were sitting around focusing on us, it gave to us a feeling that maybe there was more to life than just what we were worried about.”

Troy often stays at home while his wife walks in the mornings, he said.

“While she is walking, I’m bagging lunches for the kids for school,” he said.

Bellah's mother, Valerie Kiunke, called her decision to walk a “brave thing to do.”

Kiunke said she was sometimes concerned with where and when her daughter walked: early in the morning around Stallion Springs, where there's been talk of mountain lions and bobcats preying on elk and smaller animals.

“I told her a long time ago, 'Get some Mace,'” Kiunke said.

Bellah recently did just that, she said, mentioning another reason to look forward to walking in San Diego.

“It'll probably be a little safer,” she said.

Trisha Tye, who walks with Bellah at least three times per week, said Bellah had been considering Breast Cancer 3-Day for a long time.

“Even though you are just one person, you can make a difference,” said Tye, who had an aunt die after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Bellah sees herself not just as one person, but one “piece of the puzzle” in the fight against breast cancer.

“Eventually, the puzzle will be finished,” Bellah said.

People looking to donate to Bellah's walk or to breast cancer research in general can go to www.the3day.org. From there, potential donors can click "donate" and "search for participant" to find her name to give to her fund specifically.