I love my mother, my husband, and Disney...

This weekend, I did something. And for me, this is something big! Never did I imagine that I would say the words that come at the end of this post, but sure enough, I get to say them.

Understanding the significance of this requires a little bit of backstory about me, particularly about my mother. Throughout my life, mom was faced with medical challenges. Despite the inconvenience of doctors, medicines, hospitals and tests, she always found a way to rise above challenge to live her best life.

Several years ago, mom went for a routine mammogram, much like she did every year. But this time, it was different. The doctor asked her to come back for a biopsy. At that appointment, mom told the doctor that she knew they had found cancer – the doctor disagreed and said that she finds these abnormalities all the time. Needless to say, mom was right. A week later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

I had never seen my mother so concerned in all the trials that she had faced previously. Suddenly, healthcare went from inconvenient to something more. She was scared, and she didn’t know what to do. The doctors reassured her that her prognosis was fantastic - she had Stage 0 DCIS which was an isolated cancer nodule. The treatment would be relatively easy consisting of surgery, followed by radiation and chemo. But for mom, this diagnosis changed her identity and affected her like nothing I had seen before. She couldn’t fathom treating this cancer for the remainder of an entire year.

Like many, she sought a second opinion. This was the key for her to beat her cancer. At a cancer center in New York City, mom found a clinical trial that was specifically for her type of breast cancer. Treatment would consist of surgery, and radiation to the surgical site while she was still in the operating room. Upon discharge from her procedure that day, mom was able to go on with her life uninterrupted – except for follow-up visits, of course.

This was when she decided that she was taking a victory trip to Walt Disney World (though we had been often while growing up). She was going to enjoy the time with her children and live the life that she had been afforded by the shorter treatment timeline of this clinical trial.

Five years later, there was no sign of recurrence. Mom had beaten her breast cancer! She continued her routine care with mammograms and self-exam. This was a great outcome, until it wasn’t. A few months later, mom found a lump on her other breast. The mammogram didn’t show anything extremely concerning, and the doctor was reassuring that this was a benign mass. Again, mom knew better, but kept quiet waiting for the results.

When they asked her to come into the office for her results, that was a confirmation for her. Again, a second time, her non-cancer was going to be a cancer. This time, she was determined to face it with humor. She walked into the doctor’s office with determination, asked him where he kept the scissors. She needed him to cut the lump out quickly because she had dinner plans with friends. This was how my mother planned to face a second, inconvenient cancer.

What she didn’t know, is that she was somewhat correct. In the 5 years since her last cancer occurrence, technology had changed exponentially! Her diagnosis was exactly the same, but in her other breast. My mother didn’t have a recurrence but had the same cancer… twice! This time, the technological advances would make it so that her life wouldn’t be extremely impacted. Thanks to research, funding, and determined physicians, the standard of care for this cancer had been extremely streamlined.

Mom passed away two years ago but left a mark on all of us. Healthcare is important, and you fight to make it better and get what you need. This message is inspirational, until you actually have to live by it.

In August, Ed was diagnosed with brain cancer. Very quickly he had an awake craniotomy followed by weeks of recovery, and then radiation and chemotherapy. We are now in the midst of maintenance chemo and have just had the opportunity to look back on the past six months. They went by so fast.

Like my mother, Ed has a very promising prognosis. But with that, comes treatment, side effects, and eternal worry. Unlike mom’s breast cancer, Ed’s cancer will never go away. The unique nature of our brain cells can hide cancer cells within. Ed will be monitored for the rest of his life – even after rounds of treatment.

If and when Ed has a recurrence of cancer, we hope that advances in technology and treatment will follow the same trajectory that they did for mom. We anticipate seeing great advances in the treatment of brain cancers year after year.

These advances don’t come without many warriors fighting for them, and money to develop and trial new treatments. This past weekend, I was presented with an interesting idea. It combines two things that are very important to me – my loved ones, and my own love for Disney (thanks to mom). These two worlds were suddenly colliding. By partnering with the American Cancer Society, I could raise funds for cancer advances AND run in a Disney 5k. I Couldn’t pass on this opportunity to do something that seemed unachievable for me and improve my own health in preparation. I expect to be here a long time with Ed, and I will need to maintain my own health for the both of us.

So, at the end of this story, I am combining my love for my mother, my love for my husband, and my love for Disney. In April of this year…

I will run in my first 5k race!

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If this story ignited a spark inside you, I encourage you to join the cause and donate to the American Cancer Society in support of myself, my mother, Ed, or anyone you know who may have been touched by cancer: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/jasondanielak

To hear me tell this story firsthand, you can check out my video announcement and subscribe to our YouTube channel to follow my progress all the way to race day in April: https://youtu.be/m154Nlu4kyM