March 24, 2004

Marshall Democrat News 
Marshall, Missouri


Step by step

By Naomi Campbell/Staff Writer 

Walking along the side of the road Tuesday with her trusty companion "Bob," Polly Letofsky traveled from just north of Marshall to Waverly, where she departed from today.

Slowly but steadily, Letofsky plans to make her way to Kansas City during the next several days, pushing "Bob," her custom-made sport utility stroller, and putting behind her more of her five-year, 15,000-mile journey across the world.

Marshall Lions Club member Shirley Mach writes 
the name of her friend with breast cancer on 
Polly Letofsky's traveling stroller. 

In Marshall as a presenter at Monday's Lions Club meeting, Letofsky's walk is not just so she can see the world and meet people. She is also sharing an important message. The Global Walk for Breast Cancer, as Letofsky calls it, began not long after she was told by her doctor that she didn't have to worry about getting breast cancer because it doesn't run on her mother's side of the family. Quickly informed by a friend that her doctor's information was incorrect, Letofsky decided she wanted to help spread awareness about the disease to help women across the world.

Journey almost complete

About seven months after starting the Global Walk, which has so far included from 15 to 20 miles per day and covered 20 countries and several continents, Letofsky came into contact with what she calls "the greatest stroke of luck." She was in Australia at the time, and was lost. A woman came to ask her if she needed help, and the next thing Letofsky knew she was meeting the local Lions Club members.

The Global Walk initiator begins her trek from Marshall to Waverly Tuesday, continuing her 15,000-mile journey to spread awareness about the disease. At left is Marshall Lions Club member Karl Kirchhoff, who served as Letofsky's escort. 

In Mackay, Queensland, Australia, local Lions inducted her into their club and made Global Walk their own international project. Since that time, many more Lions Clubs around the world have helped select Letofsky's route and provided funding for breast cancer awareness and research.

Local Lions inspired

Speaking briefly about her travels and purpose at the local Lions Club meeting, Letofsky explained her journey is nearing an end. She stayed two complimentary nights at Marshall's Super 8 and was then escorted to her "stopping point," turning Marshall into yet another point of departure. However, she left an impression on the local Lions that they will not soon forget.

"I'm looking forward to reading her book," said club President Linda Smith, hoping to learn more about Global Walk after Letofsky is finished with the journey. "Everything she talked about just holds your attention."

Another Marshall Lions Club member, Shirley Mach, said now that she has met Letofsky and heard about her work, she feels she has more of a tie to other Lions Club members across the globe.

"To meet someone like her is such an honor," Mach said. "Someone who has made a five-year commitment to something so important. And that she's a Lion is even more of a bonus. I'm so proud."

Looking down the stretch of a walk through Missouri and across the Great Plains following the Santa Fe Trail through Kansas and into Colorado, Letofsky said plans have already been made for her final walk into Vail, Colo., on July 30. That's the point at which she began the Global Walk in August 1999, and will be the stretch that marks the last miles of her journey.

"It will be an enormous adjustment to stop, but I'm ready for the next chapter," Letofsky said.

As a result of Global Walk, funds raised in the different countries remained in those places to help in the fight against breast cancer. Along the way, Letofsky said she had thousands and thousands of opportunities to talk to people and explain the purpose of her walk, and therefore, open doors for education, support and advocacy.

"Meeting and talking with women that have been diagnosed with breast cancer, I've found that there are some real parallels between the walk and such a serious diagnosis," Letofsky explains on her Web site, www.globalwalk.org . "You can't look at the whole picture at once or you're likely to become overwhelmed, so we choose smaller goals and day by day, or step by step, we overcome them."

Contact Naomi Campbell at marshallfaith@ socket.net

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