Blonde hair and sunny dispositions are hereditary traits shared by the seven Masterson sisters. But another, more sinister genetic marker has brought the Southern California-bred siblings both tragedy and a shared sense of purpose.
Six of the seven sisters were diagnosed with breast cancer in their early 50s, and one died from the disease last year. At 49, youngest sibling Marianne Masterson of Bonsall is the only one yet to be struck by the disease, but she knows it may be inevitable. Rather than live in fear, she has been inspired to take action.
Over the past four years, Masterson has led a team in the annual Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk. Together they have raised more than $90,000 for breast cancer research.
The walk is tough, Masterson said of the 60-mile trek through San Diego coming up Nov. 15-17. But it’s way better than chemo.
Born in Torrance, Masterson is the youngest of 11 children, born within a span of 16 years. There was no history of breast cancer in any branch of the family when second-eldest sister, Kathy Dunham, was diagnosed 14 years ago with an early-stage carcinoma. She was 52. Two years later, eldest sister Fran Dyer was diagnosed at 54. Over the next decade, sisters Nancy Usher, Sheila Presto, Linda Barron and Sue Kerby got the same unwelcome news. All were between the ages of 52 and 54.
Masterson said it was terrifying watching the disease spread like a slow fire through her family.
By the time the fourth sister was diagnosed, we were all freaking out, she said.
Dyer, who at 67 has been cancer-free for 12 years, said the toll cancer has taken on her family forced them all to re-evaluate their priorities.
Our grandmothers lived to 90 and 95, so when we all got cancer, it was an eye-opener to each of us that we might not live forever and we needed to look at our lives and make sure we’re living them to the fullest, said Dyer.
Three years after Dyer’s cancer battle, she and her husband moved from Upland to Solana Beach, where they’d always planned to retire — they just accelerated the timetable by a decade. Barron, who was diagnosed at 54 and underwent chemotherapy to treat her stage 2 tumor, decided to retire early eight years ago and fulfill her lifelong dream of moving to Oregon.
My sister Linda and I both know cancer is running around in our bodies and there’s a timetable, so we have to do whatever we can to live our lives and keep ourselves watching for it so it doesn’t come back a second time, Dyer said.
Masterson, who works as a business manager for Leidos Holdings (formerly SAIC) in San Diego, went to a gene-testing clinic seven years ago to get some answers, but they weren’t what she wanted to hear.
He said with our family history it isn’t a matter of if I’ll get breast cancer, it’s when, she said. I was shocked and taken aback. I was in my early 40s at the time and I wasn’t ready for that.
Masterson began taking Tamoxifen, a drug that can reduce cancer risk by 50 percent, she changed her diet, lost weight and started exercising heavily. But she decided against the drastic preventive measure of a double mastectomy.
I talked to my sisters and we all felt I shouldn’t go that route, she said. I’ve really struggled with it. I’d say I’m still considering it as an option.
What spurred Masterson into fundraising was when her sister Sheila’s cancer returned after a seven-year absence in 2009. The cancer spread to her spine and hip and after a 3 1/2-year battle, she died at age 65 on Dec. 18, 2012, just two months after welcoming her first grandchild and one month before a second arrived.
Masterson said she felt powerless to help her sister, who lived in Oakland, but she knew she could do something for all the other women and men who would one day fight the same battle. With Cathy Orchard, her partner of 17 years, Masterson launched Team Stride in spring 2010.
Sheila was very special to me and to do this in honor of her is huge for me, Masterson said.
Over the years, Team Stride has varied in number, but there’s always been a walker to represent each Masterson sister with cancer.
In 2010 and 2011, Sheila joined the team, though she was only well enough to walk the first mile each year. This year’s team includes Sheila’s daughter and son-in-law. Dyer was scheduled to walk this year, but has a bad knee, so she will just cheer the team on from the sidelines with other sisters, nieces, and nephews.
Masterson and Orchard’s children have also pitched in to help. Son Gavin Rodriguez, 21, walked with the team two years ago, fifth-grader Hayden Orchard helps with fundraising, and eighth-grader Hannah Orchard is gearing up for her third year in the 3-Day Youth Corps, a 20-member team of 10- to 16-year-old volunteers who cook, direct traffic and set up camps for the walkers.
Masterson and Dyer said they participate each year for their sisters as well as their daughters because they worry the disease will be passed on to the next generation.
Yes, it does scare all of our daughters. I have a daughter who is 41 and she is worried, Dyer said. I have to tell her to just calm down because there are many years of research ahead that she will benefit from.
Orchard, a retired fire chief, said that walking is only a small part of their annual 3-Day effort. Much of the year is spent coming up with creative ways to raise money for the cause (each walker must raise at least $2,300 to participate).
The couple recently hosted a Bunco and Beer for Boobs fundraiser at their Bonsall home. And last year, Masterson and five men in her office agreed to shave their heads in exchange for $10,000 in donations. The pixie cut she wears today is the end result of that successful effort.
Masterson said the emotional payback they receive each year walking the course is tremendous.
We were floored by our experience the first year, Masterson said. We were there to support other family members and it ended up changing our lives. We heard stories we couldn’t hear anywhere else and there were so many hugs and high-fives. Three-Day is not a sad day; it’s a celebration.
