Doing this! 

Thank you so much for visiting my page and supporting the 17th Annual Maine Cancer Foundation Tri for a Cure, and my third mini triathlon!! 100% of funds raised by the Foundation benefit people living with cancer by fortifying the community of cancer survivorship- the survivors themselves and their dears ones, and all the amazing people who give comfort, care and hope. 

Why this year is extra special

My mom, a breast cancer survivor, is walking the 5K this year as part of a relay team called Sandpipers, along with my sister Abby (biking) and our friend Betsy (swimming). WOW!! 

Sandpipers Relay Team Abby (biking) and Mom (5K)!

Here's some writing about my own experience with cancer

When I was first diagnosed with a low grade breast tumor in 2012, I was unimpressed, even ambivalent about my own survivorship. There were real survivors in my life at that time, they were the fighters and the brave ones. I was so, so fortunate to have the love of my family, my partner and my friends, and access to excellent medical care, but once through the surgery, recovery and a month of radiation (to which I defiantly commuted by bike, even in the snow), my cancer was forgettable. Then, in 2016, my left leg gave out as I was downshifting my car on a country road. I spent a few surreal hours thinking I had the most painful leg cramp in the universe, until an x-ray revealed that bone metastasis had broken my left femur. Cancer was back like a beast taunting any notion that this wouldn’t be a fight from here on out.  I have a trail of radiation tattoo dots running down my torso and left leg, a rod in my leg, and an overall sense of bodily asymmetry that disappears when I swim. If I had once thought survivors were people much stronger and braver, now survivorship means something different to me. 

After eight years of living with relatively stable Stage IV disease, I learned last week (early July 2024) that my disease has evolved -'flipped' as my doctor said- in a way that will make treatment more challenging. I have a wonderful team at New England Cancer Specialists and a doctor at Dana Farber. This new development (HR- HER2 low) is still in the investigation stage, but I have to admit I'm going into this Tri with some fear about what is next. I'm back in that dance with the agonizing mystery of it all. 

In my creative life as an artist and children's book creator, I tell stories about turning stereotypes on end, resilience and healing. The Tri exudes these qualities. It's an incredibly powerful expression of living fully. The event gets you out of your own head of worries and and into this other place where it totally makes sense— it’s irresistible—to join hundreds of women who are also testing the limits of their athletic abilities and fighting all kinds of fears. I CANNOT WAIT to jump into the ocean for the survivor wave on July 14, and then get on my bike for that gorgeous ride, and then fast-walk my goofy self 5K and over the finish line. If you're anywhere around southern Maine that day, come cheer all of us on!