Lansing - Joyce Kirk disregarded the lump she felt in her left breast at first but decided to get it checked when the lump didn't go away a month later.

After battling the disease that will take the lives of 40,000 men and women this year, Kirk, a Holt resident, was one of 4,400 participants in Saturday's fifth annual "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer" walk that began at the Capitol.

"After what I'd been through, this walk was just another step in the healing process," Kirk said.

By participating in the 3.5-mile walk, Kirk said she wants to spread awareness of the disease that is estimated by the American Cancer Society to be diagnosed in 7,500 Michigan women this year. The $285,000 raised from the walk will be used for breast cancer research and local education and support programs.

"My lack of energy still bothers me the most," Kirk said. "Sometimes I try to just be the same person I was. I put up a front on the outside, but on the inside, it's a different story. It's as if I push so much I hit a wall. Then I lay in bed and rest and that's OK."

Following the initial shock of the diagnosis, Kirk said she focused on a grueling six weeks of radiation in order to fight the cancer.

"No matter what you did during the day, you had to be ready for treatment," she said.

Kirk, who has participated in three cancer walks, said the road to recovery was difficult but unavoidable.

"You can't go over it, you can't go around it, so you have to go through it," she said.

Although her hair is thinner and she is now diabetic, Kirk says her life is returning to normal after her victory over the disease.

She resumed working at an income tax office and spends more time with her family.

Now Kirk says she hopes to help others survive and prevent the disease.

"This doesn't attack only older women," she said. "If I had not detected this, it would've spread. My outcome would not have been the same."

The American Cancer Society estimates that 1,400 women in Michigan will die of breast cancer this year.