Monday Motivation: Running Across the U.S. for Lung Cancer Awareness

As most of you know, I started running back in 2009 as a way to cope with my mom's passing and also so I can help raise money for lung cancer research.  I lost my mom to lung cancer 3 1/2 years ago now.  She was a never smoker, and since then, I've learned that ANYONE with lungs can get lung cancer.

Source

Thanks to a friend, today I came to know about an amazing young lady who's running across the country (from Times Square in New York to San Francisco, California).  She started her journey today.  Kelcey Harrison is running 3,500 miles to raise lung cancer awareness.  She lost her best friend, Jill, who was 22 years old, an athlete, and a never smoker like my mom, to lung cancer.  Kelcey plans to run 30 miles a day, and I can't begin to tell you how inspiring she is to me!  I wish her a safe journey ahead!  To read more about Kelcey and her journey, please go HERE. 

Wordless Wednesday: My boys, always my #1 supporters

Help me beat the crap out of lung cancer.

Please DONATE.

Joining Team LUNGevity

When my mom called me that one spring afternoon in 2007 to tell me they discovered a mass in her lung and it might be cancer, I didn't want to believe what she had just said.  You might say I was in denial.  No, not my mom, it can't be my mom!  She never smoked a cigarette in her life!  Yet I couldn't push away the memory of my Aunt (my mom's sister) who fought a courageous battle with lung cancer 7 years ago and passed away within 8 months.  I didn't want to believe that my mom would have a similar fate.  No, not my mom.  I was ready to put up a good fight.

Once her diagnosis was confirmed - Stage 4 Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) - I was online 24/7 scouring the web for information on what it is we are fighting, what is THE BEST treatment out there for her, who can help.

I was overwhelmed by information, but mostly I wanted (craved) to hear success stories from people who fought lung cancer and survived.  I didn't want to hear all the bad stuff.  I wanted to know what works, what doesn't, what kinds of food can my mom eat/tolerate, and where we can get the best treatment for her.

Among the many supportive and informative online forums I found was the LUNGevity Online Support Community.  I must have read every single post on there.  All of a sudden, I didn't feel alone.  The forum became one of my go-to places for everything - for information, validation, and comfort.  I never did participate in any of the discussions, but I forwarded every post I found interesting and helpful to my dad and my mom. 

The doctors gave my mom 6 months, but she proved them wrong and lived 20 months.  She received the best treatment available to her.  She fought hard, endured the pain, but never once complained or asked why.  When she passed away, I never felt the same. Life changed.  She was my best friend.  I still miss her. So much.....

My mom and me back in 2006

The year I became a runner and ran the Race for Breath 5K for lung cancer in November 2009, I ran my heart out for my mom.  I also kept thinking about the families who are dealing with this horrible disease, and I finished that race knowing that I want to help.  I want to help others with lung cancer get a better survival rate.  I want to help to honor my mom.

I started looking for charity organizations that I can help raise money for.  There are charities for general cancer research and charities for lung cancer research specifically.  If I could, I would help all cancer charities, but I chose just one organization to pour all my heart into.  I kept going back to the astounding statistics of lung cancer:  it is the #1 cancer killer in the U.S., yet it is the LEAST-FUNDED cancer research program in the U.S.; there is no early detection for lung cancer unlike colon, breast, and prostate cancer - cancers with early detection;  only 15% of lung cancer patients survive 5 years post-diagnosis; it kills more people than breast, colon, brain, & prostate cancers COMBINED (statistics from LUNGevity Foundation and Lung Cancer Alliance).

I chose to join and run for Team LUNGevity in memory of my mom. Team LUNGevity is a group of passionate runners and triathletes who run marathons, triathlons, half marathons, and any race distance while raising money for lung cancer research.  I chose Team LUNGevity because I was drawn to LUNGevity Foundation's mission of  increasing the survival rates of lung cancer patients by funding lung cancer research on early detection and treatment.  That mission stood out for me.  If lung cancer could have been detected early for my mom, perhaps she would still be alive today.  I want to make that (early detection of lung cancer) a reality to someone, and I want those who are fighting lung cancer now to have the best treatment possible.  Lung cancer does not discriminate - it doesn't matter if a person used to smoke, smoked, or never smoked; a person's ethnic background does not matter.  It is a cancer that no one deserves.  It is a deadly cancer that needs to be detected early just like the other cancers. 

Please help me fight lung cancer and help me raise money to fund early detection research for lung cancer by supporting me as I train to run 3 races in memory of my mom and others touched by lung cancer, and in honor of those who are fighting lung cancer now:

The Dempsey Challenge 10K race on October 8, 2011
Race for Breath 5K (for lung cancer) on November 5, 2011
Richmond Half Marathon (my first half marathon!) on November 12, 2011

Please see below how you can help.  My training and fundraising efforts will culminate in my first half marathon this November.

• Donate just $13.10- on my DONATION PAGE to honor someone you know touched by lung cancer.  I will wear their names on race day to honor their courage and their fight.
• Sponsor a mile for either 1 or all 3 races I am running by donating $131- per mile on my DONATION PAGE.  Dedicate that mile to someone.
• Or simply donate as little as $1- on my DONATION PAGE.  Every little bit helps.

Thank you so much for reading this far and for supporting me! 

Much love,
Marie

Wordless Wednesday: From Ukrop's Monument Av 10K Race

My favorite "Dress Up and Run" Costumes from the race.  They had to run in these costumes as a group.  The Up "kid" and the old guy walked the course, though.  So much fun!

 

Got the Green Light to RUN!!!

WOOHOO!  Well, more like walk/jog, but it's a start and a sign that I am healing well, according to my PT yesterday (knock on wood, fingers crossed). 

Until today, I had resigned myself to walking my first 10K this coming Saturday - which dampened my spirit, but I didn't want to disappoint friends who donated to Massey Cancer Center by not showing up at all.  So I was pleasantly surprised, happy, and relieved that I can at least jog my first 10K!  Not exactly how I had planned it, but hey, I'll take it!  (Happy mother runner, me!)  :D

Running With Mr. McDreamy

My husband and I decided that I am we are going to run The Dempsey Challenge Journey for Hope 10K with Mr. McDreamy on October 8/9 this year.  The Dempsey Challenge is an annual fundraising in Lewiston/Auburn, Maine to benefit the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing at Central Maine Medical Center.  October 8 is the run/walk 10K event, and October 9 is the cycling event.

Patrick Dempsey created the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing at Central Maine Medical Center after his mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  The realities of his mom's cancer brought to light the importance of having access to reliable resources for patients, caregivers, and families.  Dempsey wanted to give back to the community that helped his mom through her cancer journey.  Fortunately, his mom was successfully treated and is now healthy and active.

I am not a huge, die-hard fan of Mr. McDreamy, but I have a lot of respect and admiration for Patrick Dempsey. The Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing provides free services, thanks to donations made by Dempsey himself and other sources.  I admire actors/famous people who give back to the community whole-heartedly without the big publicity stunts to self-promote their image just because it's "cool."

We think that this race will be on our race calendar every year.  We will be making the big trip back to Maine in October to support the Center in memory of my husband's dad, who lost his battle to lung cancer.  He passed away before the Center was created, but we hope that our fundraising efforts in memory of him will help other families touched by cancer in the Lewiston/Auburn area.  We'd like to think he would want us to help, and what better way to remember him by running a 10K for the Center.

Featured in Mom Vs Marathon Blog!

I am so honored to be featured on Mom Vs Marathon's blog today!  What an amazing gift Kerrie is giving to those of us who are running and raising money for charity.  Please check out Kerrie's blog and the piece she wrote about my fundraising efforts for Massey Cancer Center.  Thanks, again, Kerrie!  You're the best!

Putting Cancer On the Run!

When I signed up for Ukrop's Monument Av 10K race in Richmond, I couldn't help but think about taking on the Massey Cancer Center fundraising challenge.  When my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer, Massey was one of the centers we contacted about getting treatment for her.  Unfortunately, my mom was too weak to make the two hour car ride to Richmond so we decided it was best for her to seek treatment near home.

Massey had been very helpful and supportive up to that point.  I was impressed with how they formed a team of lung cancer specialists for my mom.  I knew that I couldn't run this race without making it more than just conquering my first 10K race.  I kept thinking of mom.  I had to help.

Within hours of sharing my fundraising challenge on Facebook, friends donated money and surpassed my first goal of $100-!  I was humbled and touched by my friends' generosity.  Each friend made a donation in honor or in memory of someone they knew who is/was touched by cancer.  Sadly, I came to know that three friends also lost a parent to lung cancer.

I hope to figure out a way to carry these names with me to the finish line.  Their fight will not be in vain!  If you wish to donate in memory or in honor of someone you know with cancer, you can do so on my fundraising page.  Thank you!

why i run

The pain I felt from running that race will never compare to the pain you endured

while fighting that dreadful disease. (Race for Breath 5K Virginia Beach 2009)

I started running two years ago (January 2009) for my mom.  I lost my mom to lung cancer 3 months before that.  My mom never smoked a cigarette in her life.  While her passing was somewhat comforting because it  meant she was no longer in a lot of pain, I had a difficult time getting used to life without her.

The day I became a runner was when a very dear friend invited me to exercise with a group of moms who was training to run the Race for Hope 5K in Washington DC, a race which supports brain tumor/brain cancer research and awareness.  They were running as a team to support another friend who lost her father to brain cancer.  The thought of running just 3 miles was overwhelming to me then.  I was not a runner.  I hated running.  I dreaded those runs we had to do for Presidential Fitness Challenge in elementary school.  But the thought of running to support a fight against cancer never left me because I knew I wanted to do the same and run for my mom.  I needed to go through the challenge of learning how to run in order to cope with my loss and eventually to start healing.

Thus began my journey to run and to heal.  Inspired and encouraged by these moms, I took on the Couch-Potato-to-5K training plan challenge with one of my best friends and in two months, ran my first 5K race in DC for colon cancer - Scope It Out 5K - in memory of her mom who passed away from colon cancer.  Two months after that, I joined that same group of moms and ran the Race for Hope 5K in DC, pushing my then 1 1/2 year old son in a jogging stroller.  Finally the day came when my husband and I ran the Race for Breath 5K in Virginia Beach for Lung Cancer.  I was unprepared for the emotion that came over me like a waterfall right at the start line.  I didn't think I could start the race that was so important to me.  But I did. I ran and ran and ran with all my heart for my mom and kept running since.

These days, I still run for my mom and I also run for me.  Depending on the day, I run for many different reasons......

I run to fight cancer and honor lives touched by cancer on race days (Please visit my current cancer fundraiser HERE)
On other days, I run for the pure joy of it, because it makes me feel alive and free.
I run so I can watch the sun set and marvel at the colors it leaves behind.
I run to counteract the cookies I plan on indulging later in the day.
I run to see just how far I can go.
I run to play over and over, the memories with my mom.
I run to erase stress so I can go back to the day's or week's tasks, refreshed.
I run so I can be a better mom, wife, daughter, sister, and friend.
I run to vent frustrations, usually with a friend.
I run to watch butterflies fluttering to clear my running path (hello, mom!)
I run so I can think about what to do in my next art project.
I run to be inspired.
I run to find out where the miles will take me.
I run to hear my mom telling me to be careful.
I run so I can be faster (still working on this one!).
I run to feel that runner's high at the end.
I run because it is part of who I am now and because I can.

What about you?  Why do you run?