2022 LA Marathon Breast Cancer Fundraiser

I have never particularly enjoyed running in and of itself (very much prefer it if I have a hockey stick in hand); however, I became a very recreational jogger post-college and had toyed with the idea of running of marathon. Nonetheless, I never quite had the motivation to pay tribute to the ancient Greek messenger who ran the 25 mile distance from the site of Marathon to Athens with news of the ever-important Greek victory over the Persians in 490 B.C. (as a historical aside, the distance was elongated to 26.2 miles when the Olympics were hosted in London in 1908 to accommodate the wishes of the British Royal Family, who wanted the race to begin on the lawn of Windsor Castle and finish in front of the royal box at the Olympic stadium--a distance that is exactly 26.2 miles). However, in early 2021, my mom was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, and I finally mustered up the will to run a marathon for a cause greater than myself and to help raise money for and awareness about Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

Triple Negative Breast cancer is a less common form of breast cancer, accounting for about 10-15% of all breast cancers, and unique in that it does not have any of the receptors commonly found in other forms of breast cancer. This ultimately means that the cancer grows and spreads faster, has limited treatment options, and a worse prognosis than other types. It is considered an aggressive form of cancer due to the pace at which it grows and the likelihood of recidivism. Given the lack of responsiveness to current treatment options, there is clearly a strong need for continued research funding.

Thus, I am so excited to be running the LA Marathon to raise money for the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation. In addition to serving as a catalyst for science and patient advocacy and a caring community with meaningful services for patients and their families, the organization offers research grant support to encourage the launch of projects aimed at finding targeted treatments for triple negative disease. TNBC Foundation supports research at many leading institutions, including Stanford, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, UNC, NYU, Mount Sinai, The Institute of Cancer Research (London), University of Alabama, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and University of Miami.