‘I am running for everyone who has fought this disease’
Daniela Desantis is running Boston for the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team.
In our “Why I’m Running” series, Boston Marathon runners share what’s inspiring them to make the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Boston.
Name: Daniela Desantis
Age: 38
From: Winthrop
This is my first year running Boston and my first time running a marathon. I am running on the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team to raise money for cancer research.
I want a world without cancer. I have been deeply affected by cancer. My mother passed from colon cancer in 1995 when I was 10 years old. My father was diagnosed in 2021, just about two years ago. It has progressed to stage 4 and is a losing battle. He has been hospitalized at least 15 times from complications. I have seen both parents suffer from cancer and countless others and I am at war with this disease.
Running for Dana-Farber is my way of fighting back. I need to do this and feel like I am running for everyone who has fought this disease, not just my own parents. Running is getting me through this very hard time and running with a group of people who have been through something similar has been my support and so meaningful. I see others’ stories, including the woman on our team running with cancer herself, and say to myself, “This is why I am doing this.”
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