Mandy Bresnahan is running for her cancer-free six year old

"But after all we've been through, the most important thing is that Teaghan is here with us."

Mandy Bresnahan is running for her six-year-old daughter Teaghan, who will be five years cancer-free in June. Mandy Bresnahan

By Madelaine Millar

February 25, 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 #WhyImRunningBoston story here.

Name: Mandy Bresnahan
Age: 38
From: Ayer, Massachusetts

On April 20th, I will be running my very first marathon for the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge team. Running for Dana Farber is so incredibly special for me. I will be running in honor of my six year old daughter, Teaghan, who will celebrate 5 years cancer free in June.

Days after Teaghan turned two years old, her routine bloodwork came back abnormal. After a repeat blood draw and similar results, we found ourselves in a room at Boston Children’s Emergency Department. It was in this room, we were told our seemingly healthy, sweet, innocent, little girl had cancer. We spent over 44 days as inpatient at Children’s, while they fought to get her cancer in remission, and then spent 2 more years receiving treatment as outpatient at Dana Farber as part of her protocol. We became experts in reading bloodwork results, administering medication, dealing with a toddler on steroids, holding down our child while she received shots in her legs, and cleaning up puke, amongst many other things.

As part of her treatment plan, Teaghan received 112 weeks of chemotherapy, had 19 lumbar punctures with intrathecal chemotherapy, we woke her 490 nights to give her oral chemotherapy, 203 days of steroids, 60 shots of chemotherapy into her thighs, over 104 trips to Dana Farber and counting.

While our visits to Dana Farber are now just check ups, they are still riddled with fear and anxiety. I don’t know that those feelings will ever truly go away. But after all we’ve been through, the most important thing is that Teaghan is here with us. She is healthy and thriving!

I’m running for Teaghan, for the families we met along our journey, for my friends and family who have been touched by this horrible disease; I’m running for a cure.

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