I am so excited to be taking on my second London Marathon (third marathon overall) and for an organization extremely personal and near and dear to my heart, Against Breast Cancer, a UK secondary spread breast cancer research organization.

Breast cancer is no stranger to mine, or Adam's, families. We've both seen our loved ones fight diagnoses of breast cancer. And we've both lost loved ones to breast cancer.

With breast cancer being so prevalent in both of our families, I wanted to make sure I started becoming proactive with my breast health even though I am younger than the "norm" when it comes to mammograms and breast screenings. In the fall of 2022, I learned that I am at a higher risk of developing breast cancer than the "average" person. While I wasn't surprised, I struggled with the knowledge that I have a higher risk of developing breast cancer. Throughout the past two years, I have started to flip my narrative from one of anxiety and stress to one of hope and strength, "I can detect it early and I can do whatever it takes to prevent it." I also started telling myself that it was important to share my story. I want to inspire others to complete a breast cancer risk assessment with their medical team and to understand their risk of developing breast cancer. I want people of all ages to know that it is okay, and completely normal, to get mammograms and if need be, breast MRIs. While these tests are scary, they are 100% worth it.

So far, in the two years since I learned that I have a higher risk of developing breast cancer in my life, I have had two mammograms, two MRIs, and one ovarian cancer screening. I will continue to have at least three screenings every year and I am working with my medical team to put together my timeline for a longer-term prevention plan. Every time I undergo a screening or think about the preventative action I am undergoing I am full of anxiety, but also full of hope. I am hopeful for the future of my health, and the future of the health of everyone else like me with a higher risk of developing breast cancer. I am hopeful that one day there will be a vaccine, or a cure, to fight and/or prevent breast cancer and secondary breast cancer. I am incredibly lucky to have preventative tools at my fingertips and I want to do my part to make sure that EVERYONE, no matter their family history or risk assessment, have the same preventative tools as me. In the United States, it can be cost prohibitive to prevent, detect, and treat breast cancer and I want to change that. I want to be the reason someone owns their breast cancer screenings and I want to be the reason someone decides to undergo a risk assessment tool. Lastly, I want to do my part to prevent and cure breast cancer in my lifetime.

I am incredibly honored to be fundraising for Against Breast Cancer as I take on the challenge of another London Marathon. I admire the work that Against Breast Cancer is doing when it comes to prevention, detection, and treatment of breast cancer, especially preventing secondary spread (advanced breast cancer/stage 4/metastasis).

Some facts about Against Breast Cancer (ABC):

1) ABC was founded in 1993, and has been playing a pivotal role in secondary spread research ever since.

2) ABC funds research projects costing over $4.5 million to prevent secondary spread, increase survival ratings when a secondary spread diagnosis is made, and work towards a vaccine to prevent secondary spread. ABC has a Fellowship Programme to support and develop young scientists in their work.

3) ABC's founder, Dr. Anthony Leathem, stood outside of a London Tube Station rattling a tin to collect donations to fund his own research in the early days of the organization. His wife, Patricia, wrote to schools, chambers of commerce, and women's organizations to ask for funding and she also enlisted her friends to help her with collection days. They made their own fundraising materials.

4) Dr. Leathem found that breast cancer cells that could spread to other parts of the body had an unusual formation of sugar on their surface. This finding was groundbreaking.

5) To learn more about ABC visit: https://www.againstbreastcancer.org.uk

Some ways your donations will be used:

-5 GBP ($6.23) - could help fund research to enable personalized treatment and care, major factors in improving patient outcomes.

-10 GBP ($12.46) - could support research into how diet and lifestyle may increase or decrease the risk of secondary breast cancer developing.

-15 GBP ($18.69) - Buys a sterile flask and the liquids needed to grow human breast cancer cells in the laboratory to test new treatments.

-50 GBP ($62.31) - Could pay for the assessment of the properties of an anti-breast cancer antibody, to help scientists determine if it could be useful in new treatments or to help the design of the vaccine.