Our story

In October 2006 our lives changed in a way none of us could have foreseen.

Here is our story,
  • October 30th, 2006 our mom was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), a stage IV cancerous brain tumor. We were told with radical treatment the median survival is 12 months.
  • She underwent a craniotomy (brain surgery) to remove a large amount of the tumor.
  • After 4 weeks of rehab she was able to go home but only with constant supervision
  • Then a 6 week round of radiation and the first round of chemotherapy. At the same time mom was attending a day program for physical, occupational, and speech therapy.
  • We got through another round of chemo in spring.
  • In mid-May we had a new scan that showed new growth. At that time we were told that no medical treatments would work and that we would be lucky to have a month.
  • Mom was placed on hospice.
  • Seven months after being told that mom only had a month to live she passed away (12-31-07). We all miss our mom terribly.
Those are the details but read between those lines and you will see our struggle, our heartbreaking journey with cancer. We know our families story is not unique and that is why finding treatments to cure this disease is such an important goal.

How does this all connect to running a marathon? We, as a family, want to take steps to prevent this from happening to other families. Through raising money from your donations for cancer research (which we are enabled to do so through Dana Farber Cancer Institute) we are taking steps in the right direction.