22 year old Michelle Botyrius is one of the younger runners participating for the first time in this year’s Race Against Cancer (RAC). She’s a biomedical engineering student interning at NUS who’s crazy about running. Back in the States, she ran cross-country and track in middle school and high school.
Now she’s got her sights set on a half marathon in September and is running RAC not just to rebuild her endurance but also to continue raising money and awareness for cancer while she’s in Singapore.
“I like that this race combines two acts that I’m so passionate about – running and cancer advocacy. Back home at school, I do a lot of work with the American Cancer Society, so I’m excited to continue working for the cancer cause here.”
Her exercise regimen is serious. Michelle runs about 50 km in a week, spread over 5 or 6 days. After her runs, she works her core and is pushing to add weight training into the mix. “My main form of exercise is running – it’s always been my favourite way to work out. I usually run by myself because I use it as a source of stress relief.”
She’s not where she wants to be just yet but she’s getting there. Michelle’s had to start over with her running after falling sick in mid 2014. “After I finished my second year at the University of Pittsburgh in 2014, I worked as an intern with a medical device company. I woke up one day, as strange as this sounds, and had a splitting headache that never really went away. I thought I might have pulled a muscle in my neck or something so I ignored the headache as it lingered and continued to treat it with painkillers.”
After 10 days, Michelle saw her doctor who, after a normal CT scan, thought the headaches might be due to allergies or increased sinus pressure and started her on allergy medicine. But the headache persisted and Michelle experienced an extreme localised pain, like a very deep bruise, on the right frontal bone of her skull above her eyebrow. After a subsequent MRI and 2 biopsies on the tumour that was discovered, Michelle was diagnosed with stage 1 diffuse large b-cell lymphoma in August 2014.
Things moved quickly from there. “Treatment began in September 2014 and ended in March 2015. I was prescribed 6 rounds of standard chemotherapy for non-hodgkin’s lymphoma, 4 rounds of chemotherapy administered via lumbar puncture to my spinal fluid, and 15 rounds of radiation.”
During this time, Michelle continued her studies as a part-time student but was back to a full load of classes in early 2015. “I attribute a lot of my success and ease of dealing with treatment to my long-time healthy habits – l’d always eaten well and run. This paid off when I was dealing with the physical side effects of treatment. I was also very lucky that my symptoms leading to diagnosis were so dramatic. This led to a much earlier diagnosis than most cancers which don’t cause major symptoms until it’s very late. I’ve been cancer-free since December 2014, and have a great overall prognosis.”
This year, Michelle hopes that by running and sharing her story, other young adults will know that they aren’t alone when facing cancer. “Being diagnosed at 20 was difficult. I was far older than pediatric oncology patients but far younger than adult oncology patients. I felt incredibly isolated and sought out stories from other young adult survivors for inspiration and hope. I hope to “pay it forward” by sharing my story.”
“To all cancer patients, take it one day at a time. Try to do one positive thing every day like cooking a healthy dinner, going running, studying an extra hour, or just taking a mental break. It’ll help you recover physically, emotionally, and mentally. And to all RAC runners, I have a newfound appreciation for my running abilities after I had to work so hard to rebuild my endurance after chemo. We are so lucky to be able to run! There’s no better way to get/stay fit, and we can do it everywhere!”
The Singtel-Singapore Cancer Society Race Against Cancer 2016 to be held on 3 July is a race to save lives. No one should fight cancer alone. RAC invites people from all walks of life to join the fight and run beside those who are impacted by cancer. Sign up today before registration closes on 30 May!