Date of Birth: March, 1964
Number of years as HTNB: 4 Years
HTNB Highlights:
In June 2004, two weeks after my first round of chemo for recurrence, I addressed a crowd of thousands at the Komen National Race for the Cure® in Washington, DC. It was a very difficult time for me. It was heartwarming to step down from the podium into the arms of thousands of strangers and their hugs. There is no better medicine than a hug.
On September 23, 2007, I ran my 100th Race for the Cure at the Komen Massachusetts Race for the Cure in Boston. It was a wonderful event. There was a time I didn't know if I would make it to race #100. The support of New Balance and the crowds at the race is something I will never forget. To a breast cancer survivor, each and every milestone is one to cherish.
On March 15, 2008, I celebrated being a nine-year survivor with the 2nd running of the Komen Southwest Florida Race for the Cure. The miles I have run to get there are many, but there is still a long way to go.
My Story:
In 1997, I decided to take a journey into training to be a competitive athlete. I had two wonderful children and a supportive husband. I had it all. But in 1998, I started to notice I was not recovering from training as well as expected. In January 1999, I had surgery to remove my uterus. The doctor suspected cancer, but nothing showed up. In February '99, I found a lump by accident. I noticed a strange knot when looking into a mirror while trying on a jog bra. The doctor suspected a cyst. In March 1999, I was told I had breast cancer.
On April 1, 1999, I had a mastectomy.
I went on for the next five years, running over 50 Komen Race for the Cure® events across the country and internationally. I was honored to be the first Race Chair for the Komen NC Foothills Race for the Cure. In 2002, I was inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame as the first recipient of the Suzy Award.
The Komen Race for the Cure® had become a way for me to show other survivors that life continues after breast cancer. And it's the best therapy I have found. It has also helped show my kids they are not alone in this fight for their mother's life, and it gave me the perfect avenue to teach them about compassion.
In April 2004, I celebrated five years as a survivor by running the Boston Marathon. I also celebrated at the Komen Indianapolis Race for the Cure® as a new member of Honorary Team New Balance. Just prior to that, I noticed, again, a strange lump while trying on a jog bra. Scar tissue was the original diagnosis and I was on my way skipping out the door when the surgeon called me back. It was cancer. This time, it had invaded my muscle tissue and the vascular system. They listed me as Stage IV, but I wasted no time deciding to hit it with my best shot. I did four rounds of Adriamycin/Cytoxin and 4 rounds of Taxotere. After chemo came radiation, I had surgery to remove my other breast and ovaries. I have been through all the aromatase inhibitors to help ease the threat of the cancer spreading further. I am currently on a monthly treatment of Faslodex.
Losing both breasts has been inconceivably hard for me. I never expected to feel the way I do. I nursed both my children and the feelings for this disease run as deeply as my passion for being a mother. I have managed to continue running through the last nine years. I have had to accept, as all survivors, a new level of "normal". The concept of living your life the best way you can when you have no clue when that could end is a difficult and treacherous journey. The highs to survivorship can be remarkable, but so can the lows. I have been lifted up by thousands of race participants and survivors. And I hope, that some how, in some way, I have managed to extend the same to someone out there who needs a lift. I am blessed!!!
My mantra has become, "What can I do next"? Life is to be lived, cherished and explored. I hope each and every one of you can have the ability to live this way with or without cancer.
What NB and being on HTNB means to you:
I have a voice being a member HTNB. I feel it is my duty to help send hope to all breast cancer survivors. Cancer needs to be affordable for everyone. What good is a cure if you can't afford it? And how can one have choices in treatment if they are only concerned with the survival of their way of life and financial wellbeing. Health care in the U.S., as it is today, is an open-end loan. I am fighting, along with New Balance and Komen for the Cure® to keep women from paying the price with their life. Until there is a cure, we must make education, screening, treatment and research a top priority.
