What I thought would be a pretty average dentist appointment during the peak of COVID in May of 2021, turned into a doctor calling with my biopsy results asking me “Are you with your parents right now?” That phone call would change my life and at just 24 years old, I found out that I had Stage 2 tongue cancer.
Throughout my journey with cancer, I have always felt that even though I may have been put in an unlucky situation that I am absolutely the luckiest person alive. And this is all thanks to Dana Farber and my surgeon Dr. Ravindra Uppaluri. On Monday May 24th 2021, only 13 days after my initial diagnosis, I underwent a 10 hour surgery at Brigham and Women’s/Dana Farber Cancer Center to remove the fast growing cancerous tumor and reconstruct a third of my tongue from tissue taken from my left forearm, as well as to remove over 30 lymph nodes on the right side of my neck. The days and months that followed tested my mental and physical strength- from temporarily being unable to eat, talk or breathe independently, to relearning how to speak and properly eat food again with a brand new tongue, to the follow up skin grafts, surgeries, and countless appointments. I still carry the constant reminders of what I wen through everyday- from the scars on my arm, the slight crookedness of my smile, and the small changes in my everyday speech, but thanks to Dana-Farber I am here and thriving.
Running the Boston Marathon and raising critical funds for the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is my way of trying to say thank you. Thank you to Dr. Uppaluri, my surgeon and hero. The way he has been there, and continues to be there, for me throughout my journey with cancer has made everything a little less scary. He fills me with hope, calms all of my worries and anxieties, and cares so deeply. A thank you to my parents, sister, and best friends who have been with me every step of the way and carry me through the days where I don't feel like I have the fight in me to keep going, and have continued to be my source of strength. A thank you to my coworkers and the community of people who showed up, and continue to show up, and have extended such kindness and compassion. A thank you will never be enough to properly express my gratitude to my doctors, family, friends and colleagues for all that they have done for me.
It’s crazy how you can go from getting the absolute worst news of your life and truly have no idea how you will carry on, and the next day- the sun will still rise and a new day will start. You still will keep going, and you still will fight. Each day my people showed me that I could keep going, there would be better days ahead, and I would fight this and beat it. And thanks to them, and Dana- Farber Cancer Institute, I am 3 years cancer free and racing towards celebrating 4 years as I get ready to run the 129th Boston Marathon!
If at all possible, please consider donating to help me reach my goal and to help Dana Farber continue their ground breaking, life saving work!
