Hi Everyone!
Thank you for taking the time to visit my fundraising page! Many of you know it has been a dream of mine to run Boston for the Dana Farber since the passing of my mom almost ten years ago. For those of you who don't know, I want to share with you my story.
When I was eighteen years old, my mom told us she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was young, my siblings were younger, and my first thought was, "This is just another bump in the road and she will get past this." For eight years, my mom fought like hell. She worked sixty hours a week as a retail manager despite the chemo beating up her body. I watched my mom day in and day out and continued to tell myself, "She will get past this."
I spent many days and hours with her at the Dana Farber over the course of those eight years. During the last couple of years, the cancer spread to her lungs and not long after that to her brain. The night before my mom passed, I will never forget the image I have of her walking out of her hospital room with her intravenous pole and medication attached. She was a true fighter who never gave up.
I have vowed to myself since the day my mom passed, to live life to the fullest and to continue to fight for her and the so many others who are affected by this disease. Unfortunately, many of us can relate when I say that cancer has no boundaries. Many of us have been affected or know someone who has been and we need to continue the fight for those who no longer can.
Spending so many of my years at the Dana Farber with my mom, I have been wanting to join their team and their cause. On April 15th, 2024 I will finally run the Boston Marathon. One hundred percent of every dollar raised by the DFMC team supports the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. These funds are fueling some of today's most promising basic cancer research.
Thank you for your support and for taking the time to read my story. Together, we're headed toward the ultimate finish line: a world without cancer.
Warmly,
Lauren
