When Santa Clarita resident Colleen Shaffer learned in 2002 that her breast cancer had spread, she also learned she'd live six months unless her body responded to treatment.

But Shaffer is a fighter. She is a cancer survivor.

She will probably be on chemotherapy for the rest of her life, but today that life knows no predictable time limits. Statistics do not define her, and you won't find her measuring life based on somebody else's actuary table.

If you're looking for Colleen Shaffer, you will find her doing what she has done since her battle with breast cancer began in 1999.

You will find her fighting.

Only this time, she's not just fighting for herself.

Through Circle of Hope, Inc., a nonprofit cancer support organization she founded in 2004, Shaffer now fights for breast cancer patients across the Santa Clarita Valley.

On April 21 at Castaic Lake, that fight will take the form of Circle of Hope's Third Annual Walking for Hope 5K event.

"We're trying to break the stereotype of what cancer patients can and can't do," Shaffer says. "When you're a cancer patient, you take one step at a time. You just keep moving forward."

The walk, which will raise funds for Circle of Hope's outreach, is just what it sounds like - a walk. No running. No racing.

The idea is for people to feel comfortable and un-intimidated.

"Fighting CANCER may be scary. It may be a DARK TUNNEL. But there's light at the end, as long as we can provide HOPE. I don't want people to be afraid of being able to pay for treatment," ~ Colleen Shaffer of Circle of Hope

"Last year, we had a patient who felt so comfortable, she took off her wig," Shaffer says. "We had a Girl Scouts group make the walk for their leader."

Walkers are also encouraged to bring their dogs along. In every sense, this is truly a relaxed, celebratory event.

It's also about beating the disease.

"Walking has been proven to significantly improve your survival rate if you're going through treatment," Shaffer says.

The walk, which drew about 200 participants in 2005 and 435 last year, is also intended to raise awareness within the community of what Circle of Hope provides.

That provision comes in three main areas.

First, Circle of Hope covers the cost for breast cancer patients to receive a second opinion - something they usually have to wait too long for from a typical HMO health plan.

Second, Circle of Hope offers valuable financial assistance to patients and their families.

Having trouble making co-pays? Are you discovering, like so many cancer patients, that your insurance doesn't cover the medications you need to survive?

Circle of Hope can help.

"No one else in Los Angeles County provides funds for treatment of breast cancer outside of Medicaid," Shaffer says. "We're talking about $100,000 to $200,000 a year to treat breast cancer. If you're a working individual, you've got a financial problem."

Circle of Hope can only help with current medical bills, another reason people need to know it exists sooner rather than later.

Finally, Circle of Hope offers practical emotional support. Patients receive goody bags full of necessities such as special dental gear (chemo makes people susceptible to cavities), headgear (for hair loss) and a journal to write in.

Circle of Hope also accepts donations. And since it's an all-volunteer organization, every dime it collects stays in the community.

"When you give to Circle of Hope, you're helping a neighbor," says Shaffer, who's lived here since 1968. "We help anyone who gets treatment in Santa Clarita... Fighting cancer may be scary. It may be a dark tunnel. But there's light at the end, as long as we can provide hope. I don't want people to be afraid of being able to pay for treatment."

In other words, she wants people to be able to fight.


Sign up for the walk at www.circleofhopeinc.org or by showing up early on the day of the event. Registration begins at 8:15 a.m.