Inspirational Stories

My mother, Nancy, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a FLT3 mutation in March 2022. Over the next year and a half, she went through multiple rounds and regimens of inpatient and outpatient chemotherapy. At every step along the way, every member of my mom's care team kept mentioning how the outlook for patients like my mom was so much better now than it had been even 10 years ago thanks to advances in medicine. My mom participated in a research study during her first round of chemotherapy and was constantly discussing a variety of treatment options available to her thanks to new trials and approved medications. My family later found out that an overwhelming majority of these treatments and medications were available to my mom thanks to funding and support from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). I was so thankful to LLS for giving my mom the best odds possible in her fight against leukemia, so I decided to run the 2023 TCS NYC Marathon with Team In Training (TNT) to raise funds for LLS. My mom was my biggest supporter during my training, just like she has been throughout my life. Whenever training got tough, and I didn't think I could run another mile, I drew inspiration from my mom's determination to fight her leukemia and from the idea that I could be making life just a little bit easier for someone else diagnosed with blood cancer in the future. 

Unfortunately, my mom passed away on August 29, 2023, a little over two months before I was scheduled to run the marathon. I know she was there with me on every step of that 26.2-mile journey across the city that she loved, especially as I ran past the hospital where she had received most of her treatments. My mom was the kindest, funniest, and most loving person I've ever had the privilege to know, and leukemia took her from this world way too soon. While I might be biased, I know that so many people who had the good fortune to meet or hear about my mom felt the same way as she inspired almost $20,000 in donations to LLS through my TNT fundraiser. We had hope and time with my mom after her diagnosis because of treatments and medical advancements funded by LLS. I found a sense of purpose and a way to feel like I was fighting alongside my mom through TNT. And eventually, we will find a cure for blood cancers because of support for LLS that is inspired by people like my mom.