After years of raising money and walking long distances in the name of breast cancer research, Dottie Cornelius was suddenly diagnosed with the disease.

Despite her oncologist telling her she was a “plain vanilla case,” she had to undergo a mastectomy.

“I cannot reconcile in my mind that my cancer was non-invasive and boring, and I still had to lose my breast,” Cornelius said.

Cornelius participated in her first 60-mile, 3-day Susan G. Komen Walk by herself in 2006 but says “in the true 3-day way, I was never alone.”

This year marks her eighth walk. She is part of the team called Island Girls that started in 2007 by Bev and Judi Madan. At every walk they have carried a banner with more than 40 Orcas Island community members’ names on it. It represents those who have survived and those who have died.

“That first year we trained we were struck by how many people thanked us for walking and explained they were survivors. We thought, ‘we must honor these women.’ So our banner was born,” according to the team’s fundraising page.

Judi initially signed up for the walk to get into shape. As a result, she lost 50 pounds.

“But when I did the first walk, all these people kept thanking me, and I realized that getting in shape was just a minor part of it,” Judi said. “I still get choked up about it.”

The 2015 Island Girls team consists of Cornelius and her niece Laura Drew, Chris Emmens and Judi and her daughters Tammie Young and Renee Welch. Each team member has to raise $2,300. Island Girls is currently at 53 percent of their combined goal.

Their fundraising goes to Susan G. Komen for awareness, education and research. You can donate at www.the3day.org/goto/Islandgirls. You can pick a team member to make an online donation.

Island Girls will be holding a bake sale on Saturday, Sept. 5 at Island Market starting at 10 a.m.

Seventy-five percent of the net proceeds raised by the 3-day walk help support Komen’s  research and training grant program and large public health outreach programs for women and men facing breast cancer. The remaining 25 percent helps fund local community and affiliate support and outreach programs.

This year’s Seattle walk, which is routed through neighborhoods and trails, is Sept. 18 to 20. The women say their fundraising is being done right down to the wire.

“We are here because each of us have been profoundly touched by breast cancer,” Cornelius said.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013 after her yearly mammogram. After that, her sisters immediately got checked and her older sister was diagnosed with the disease. Then Cornelius received even more bad news: her friend, who had participated in the walk previously, was told her breast cancer had returned.

“This is why we walk: for people in my community, my family, my friends and myself,” Cornelius said. “I walk toward cures that are gentle.”