Becca Shamah is running for her mother

"Just a year after completing 22 weekly chemotherapy treatments, my mother finally crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon."

Becca Shamah (right), who is running the Boston Marathon for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, with her mother (left) Becca Shamah

By Madelaine Millar

February 20, 2020

1 minute to read

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. If you’re running the marathon, you can share your story here.

Name: Becca Shamah
Age: 23
From: Allston, Massachusetts

On April 15, 2013, my mom was running her first Boston Marathon when she was stopped just a mile short of the finish line due to the horrific events that unfolded that day. Undeterred, my mom was motivated more then ever to cross the finish line on Boylston Street in the spring of 2014. She continued to train all throughout the summer of 2013 but noticed a change in her wellbeing and knew that something was just not right. Only six months after being a mile away from finishing the Boston Marathon, my mom was diagnosed with stage II ovarian cancer.

How could an otherwise healthy 49-year-old woman, training for her second marathon, possibly have cancer? Our family was faced with the immense sense of uncertainty that too many families have to face when a loved one receives a cancer diagnosis. My mother was fortunate enough to receive life-saving treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Due to the remarkable strides made in cancer research and the incredible expertise and knowledge of her team of physicians and nurses at the Dana-Farber, I am fortunate enough to say that my mom has been cancer free for six years. In April 2015, just a year after completing 22 weekly chemotherapy treatments, my mother finally crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Now it is my turn to run in honor of my mom and those who are still fighting this terrible disease. I will be running the Boston Marathon as a member of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge, so that more people, like my mother, will be able to benefit from the groundbreaking research being done at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Editor’s note: Entry may have been lightly edited for clarity or grammar.