July 15, 2003

The Clare Sentinel 
Clare, Michigan

Walking 18,000  miles for cancer benefit

By Denyse Smith

Sometime Tuesday, Polly Letofsky will arrive in Ludington, having left Clare last Wednesday.  normally it wouldn't take a week to travel from Central Michigan to the West Michigan shoreline, but Letofsky and her companion Debi Linker are walking.

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In order to make the trek Letofsky said she worked four jobs to save money and along the way she raffles off GlobalWalk tee-shirts.  otherwise she is dependent on the kindness of others, including friends Debi and Jim Linker, who joined her a few weeks ago.

Jim drives the motor home between stops while the two women walk an average of 15  to 20 miles a day.  The linker's plan to stay with Letofsky until labor Day, then they'll head home to Palm Desert, California.

Along the way, Letofsky said she's been surprised at the interest and generosity of people around the world.  "World is a pretty hospitable place, despite all you hear on the news these days."

Regarding her travels to Muslim and Hindu countries in the east, where women aren't accustomed taking care of themselves, she said, "In the Muslim culture, women don't talk about their breasts with anyone, let alone male doctors."

Letofsky said she had a doctor in Turkey who championed her cause after his wife died of breast cancer.  "They had a huge hunger for information about breast cancer in Turkey," she said.

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After a few days  rest, Letofsky and the Linkers will take the U.S.S. Badger across Lake Michigan to Wisconsin, and from there they will head toward the Mississippi River.

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