For Laura

Phew! I've been mentally writing this blog post in my head since Sunday. I'm glad I finally have a moment to breath in between the endless emails, phone calls (to secure donations for Coraline for a Cure) and all the training. But, here it is (hope it's good, since it's 5 days in the making)...

Sunday's Team training was amazing. I started with a short 6 mile bike ride along a bike path in Marin. It was a little nerveracking...lots of kids, dogs and big groups of riders. But I didn't fall! And did pretty good. I was near the back of the pack which gets frustrating sometimes but I just gotta keep telling myself I'm learning and the back is fine. Everyone who clips in has a mechanical advantage over me so I think that's one reason they kept flying by me. I'm still deathly afraid of clipping in but I could use the help on my rides so....My first goal of the new year: CLIP IN! For those of you who haven't been following along...clipping in means that your bike has special peddles that work specifically with clips on your bike shoes which attach your shoes to your bike. Wish me luck with that, I'll need it!

Then we hit the pool. I haven't been swimming as much as I should be which kinda hit me Sunday. And now we're about a month away from my FIRST OPEN WATER SWIM. I'm getting pretty excited for swimming in the Bay in the dead of January (sense the sarcasm in my voice?) =) I'll be hitting the pool hard over the holiday. In fact, I'm off for a swim after I post it!

Following the swim was, in my opinion, the most amazing part of the day: The Honoree Luncheon.

Honorees are team members who either have or have had a blood cancer. Some of them are training for the triathlon alongside us. Others are training for different events, like Laura who is training for the snow show hike in Yosemite. Others are currently undergoing treatment and therefore can't train but serve as the inspiration for us to keep training.

Two of our honorees, Mark & Laura, shared their stories. I was moved to tears by both of them. Here are their stories. Here is WHY I keep pestering YOU to donate, to buy tickets for Coraline for a Cure, to support us. Here is why I'm training 6 days a week, in the rain, in the freezing weather, in the early morning. Here is why waking up at 7a both weekend days is a walk in the park. Here is why running up & down the Kezar (yep did that last night) and running lap after lap is bearable and sometimes enjoyable. Here is why I'm asking you to spend $60 on a ticket for a theatre show. Here is my reason, inspiration and motivation to keep training and never giving up:

Raise your hand if you're under the age of 32.

^ That's what Laura Warren, age 49, asked the team as she began talking to us on Sunday. I raised my hand. So did Matt. So did probably half the team. Laura has been dealing with cancer and effects of it for longer than everyone who was raising there hand had been alive.

Laura was diagnosed with Hodgkins disease when she was a senior in high school. Luckily, at that time the survival rate for Hodgkins was 90% with the current treatment plan. She had a choice: go through intense chemotherapy for 1 year+ or die within 6 months. She candidly told us that some choices are so obvious they aren't really choices at all -- so I did the chemotherapy. 

She was ultimately cured of Hodgkins disease. 20 years later, Laura found a lump in her breast and was diagnosed with breast cancer. After her diagnosis, she found out that female patients that underwent treatment for Hodgkins disease  during the time she did were something like 60% more likely to develop breast cancer than an average woman. So there she was, years after battling Hodgkins dealing with it's aftermath. She peacefully admitted that she couldn't be angry at her doctors from years ago. They did what they had to do so that I could live. And I got years added to my life where there would have only been months had I not been treated. I couldn't be upset; I had to fight.

And she did fight. The cancer went into remission. 4 years and 11 months went by. She drew that number specifically to our attention because in the cancer world: 5 years without a relapse and you're considered cured. So, after 4 years and 11 months the cancer was back. And she had to keep fighting.

Might I mention that she ran a full marathon a week after her first chemotherapy session for the breast cancer. If Laura could do that, I can do ANYTHING. 

For the past few months she's been undergoing many tests (PET scans, CT scans, blood tests, etc). The test results had been slightly ambiguous and the doctors weren't sure what exactly they meant. Before Thanksgiving we were all praying that the ambiguity meant that the cancer wasn't back and that Laura could take a break from fighting a disease that has occupied her life for over half of it.

But, the fight continues. Laura was diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer which means that with current technology and treatment she can never been cured. Yes, she will live for months. Yes, she will live for years. Hopefully she will live for years and years. But years and years isn't the same as decades and decades. She is the reason we need to keep training and keep raising. The $500,000 my team raises this season. The $10,000+ Matt & I raise this winter. It will go towards research that could help extend her life. It isn't too late for her which is why raising this money is so important for her and thousands like her across the country.

We have the power to save Laura's life. 

Fun fact: Laura did scenic painting & lighting for theater when she was in high school. We hope she can make it to Coraline for a Cure so you can all meet her and understand truly how inspiring she is!

SO, yes, I know it's the holidays. Yes, I know you don't have any extra money. Yes, I know $60 is a lot to spend on a ticket to a show. But, don't think of it, as $60 for a show. Think of it as $60 so that Laura can live. So that no mother has to lose their child. So that no one needs to spend their Christmas in the hospital. Yes, I know there are a billion other excuses, reasons, stories to say no. But, how amazing will it be, if all of our friends, family and loved ones join together with a resounding YES! Yes -- we will buy a ticket to Coraline for a Cure. Yes -- we will donate to LLS (even if only $5)! Yes -- we will save Laura's life. Yes -- we will make a positive difference in this world.  

Yes -- we will cure cancer. 

This is for you, Laura.

xoxo

Erin