Ron Kessler was in Lawrence on Monday as part of his nearly 3,000-mile walk from Delaware to San Francisco to raise awareness about breast cancer.

Kessler is among the millions of Americans who have friends and loved ones currently fighting breast cancer.

“I have never been affected by having someone close to me have their life threatened at that young of an age by an illness,” he said. “It was kind of a wake-up call for me, and that’s why I decided to try and do something for it.”

He adds that his main goal with the walk is to help stress the early detection of breast cancer. He is not doing any fundraising during his trek.

Kessler is slightly behind schedule because of weather delays – but those are the least of his concerns.

“Whatever I am doing out here, sometimes the weather is tough, but nothing is as tough as what I’ve seen my friend Marie go through – what I’ve seen her friends and family suffer through and people like her,” he said. “So I got the easy part of the bargain doing the walking, and I’ll just keep that in mind.”

Kessler hopes to reach San Francisco by mid-September.