Meet the survivors from the 2007 AVON Foundation's Global Breast Cancer Survivors Day. To get to know these ladies better, we asked them to write a phrase, a quote -- anything that inspired them in their fight against breast cancer.

Olga Smirnova from Latvia -- Be brave, optimistic and never lose your sense of humour. Even bad things sometimes turn into advantages in our life.

Yoko Kameda from Japan -- Accept and go through it! Everything is a gift.

Isabelle Traeger from Finland -- There is always hope and if hope is trying to leave you, there is always a place for miracles.

Maret Maasalu from Estonia -- Believe in yourself.

Olena Iurchenko from Ukraine -- Life is beautiful. The greatest joy and value in any woman's life.

Andrea Doreen Stuart from the United Kingdom -- Routine mammograms work!

Ingrid Valles Po from United Arab Emirates -- Breast cancer is curable! Enjoy UR Life

Erika Simonic from South Africa -- The only thing I have lost is my breast. I have gained: Friends, Love, Opportunities and Weight!!

Nor Azah Adnan from Malaysia -- Nothing is more important in life than life itself.

Egle Melinauskiene from Lithuania -- I love all women from all the world. With the best wishes.

Kim Whiting from Australia -- Ladies are like butterflies. So spread your wings and fly, fly, fly.

Gallery: AVON Walk Around the World for Breast Cancer Gallery

Schrodinger's Cat is a band located in Concord, New Hampshire and in my eyes should be traveling the world with their passion and love for music. The band is made up of five wonderful people. The singer is Ben Cooper, Stacey Webber on guitar, and Jessica Makris on base guitar, Jeremy Welch on drums and Kevin Turk as the sound man. When word was out that I needed to raise money for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, Schrodinger's Cat offered to play at a benefit concert for free. This was huge and left me speechless. The band who I did not know at the time wanted to help and what a better way then through music. My first benefit to raise money for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer was at Boar's Tavern in Loudon, New Hampshire. The band started to play and everyone danced and smiled. Through their music I danced for the first time in months. I forgot about being bald and my feet hurting and just held my husband close. Schroedinger's Cat's music made everyone in the room come together and to help in the fight to find a cure. Everyone looks forward to listening to the band play every year and they have helped raise thousands of dollars to help in the fight to find a cure. All the band members are non-survivors and support the cause because they can. The members of Schrodinger's Cat have all vow to continue to play to help raise money for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer through their music. I am very fortunate to have a wonderful support group and band in my life.

My life changed on November 25, 2003 when I heard the words "You have breast cancer!" I often contemplate if having breast cancer was so bad. Now you are thinking she is out of her mind, but hear me out. Going through treatments was the hardest thing that I have ever had to do. I was able to look at life differently and no matter how bad I was feeling I knew somebody else felt worse. It was impossible to feel sorry for myself and learned to take one day or one step at a time. Being a survivor allows me to stay strong as a person, help other survivors by listening or sharing words of encouragement. I volunteer for the American Cancer Society and the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and was also in the book Why We Walk by Deb Murphy and photo's by Paula Lerner, who is also a breast cancer survivor. Last year I had the privilege of being the survivor speaker at the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Boston and am one of the 2008 marketing campaign. I have met so many wonderful people that have changed my life forever and have allowed me to have a better understand of life. Having breast cancer have given me the opportunity to share my survivor ship with others and there is still a lot to be done before everyone diagnosed with breast cancer can survive. Having a mastectomy and enduring months of chemotherapy I do not think about what I lost but most importantly all the things I have gained in life. So to me being a survivor is not so bad.

I am so excited to be attending the AVON Walk Around the World for Breast Cancer for the second year in a row! I attended the event last year, not knowing exactly what to expect. I was deeply touched by each of the survivor's stories. I had the opportunity to speak to each of these ladies one by one, to really look into their eyes and hear their words. Of course this was the Walk Around the World event, so I won't say that there weren't language barriers – that just added to the message that this fighting breast cancer is a global fight. Thinking about breast cancer on a global scale makes you think about women all over the world. Are there social stigmas that will prevent them from getting the care and support that they need? What economic issues stand in their way?

These women took time out of their busy schedules to get their pictures taken. I asked each woman to write down a meaningful phrase on a pink piece of paper. Again, since this was a global event, the women even wrote down phrases in Japanese and Latvian depending on where they were from.

This year I plan to put together a similar photo gallery to honor these women and interview them so I can honor their journeys through breast cancer.

While I am gearing up for my trip this year, you can read my thoughts from my 'Think Pink' blog from last year and meet some of the survivors for yourself.

In addition to the 2006 Walk Around the World for Breast Cancer event, I got the opportunity to attend the actual AVON Walk for Breast Cancer. As I recap last year's walk, I look forward to the new stories of inspiration that will be achieved this year.

On Saturday, Oct. 7, I went to the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer race in New York City. The opening ceremonies began at the East River's South Street Seaport. It was a very chilly morning, but the chill in the air didn't seem to faze the thousands of women who huddled around talking and warming up before the race. There were tents set up for participants to grab a quick bite to eat before they began. At the entrance, a couple of huge inflatable walls stood towering high above the festivities. The men and women walked up to these towers and wrote messages for family and friends to inspire them on their journey.

I took a moment to read these messages. "I will walk for you no matter how far -- to find a cure. I love you, mom." "I miss you grandma -- Olivia" "Girlfriends 4 Life" People wore these messages on their shirts, their hats ... and you could tell just by looking at many of these men and women that they had someone special that they had lost on their minds. Each person was fighting for someone.

This year 3,500 walkers, volunteer crew members and breast cancer survivors from around the world raised $9.6 million for this event. The opening ceremony was breathtaking. A young New Yorker who was diagnosed at the age of 24 spoke to the crowd. She told her story and encouraged others to fight for a breast cancer cure. Music played in the background and a video was shown to inspire the women before the race.