Help Laura raise money

This November, I will be running the Philadelphia Half Marathon as a part of the AACR Runners for Research Team in honor of my wonderful friend, Kathleen. While standing in line for picture day in 7th grade, I told her I really liked her sparkly eye shadow and she’s been stuck with me ever since. 

Shortly after finding out she was pregnant, Kathleen did NIPT testing to find out the gender of her baby and risk of chromosomal abnormalities. What should’ve been a joyous moment, turned into confusion and fear when the NIPT testing came back inconclusive. After confirming that the baby was healthy, Kathleen was quickly entered into an NIH study where they were able to confirm that she had cancer. I was in complete awe watching her strength and determination, as she began chemotherapy at about 20 weeks pregnant. She gave birth to her beautiful and healthy baby girl in May, who is home and thriving despite being born prematurely. Now Kathleen must continue her fight against cancer while caring for a newborn. 

Cancer research is central to Kathleen’s story. NIH research is how she was quickly diagnosed. And because she was asymptomatic with such a rare form of cancer, it was only caught because of the NIPT testing. Blood tests being able to detect cancer in early stages would save countless lives, and something cancer research is moving towards. 

Kathleen has recently begun a new cancer treatment, which is more targeted towards her cancer’s specific genetic makeup. The treatment was JUST approved in December of 2024 and has brought so much hope! Cancer research, like the research that AACR funds, saves lives!

I am running to show support for Kathleen as she fights this battle. And there’s no better place to do that than Philadelphia, a city that she loves and used to call home. A city that holds countless memories for us, where we made many questionable decisions and laughed hysterically while making them (and still laugh hysterically when reliving them). I appreciate any support you are willing to give to help me run for Kathleen!