Running4

Marion Hanson

At age 52 after talking to her next door neighbor about the importance of breast self-exams, Marion found a lump in her breast. This was a fear of hers after losing both of her parents to cancer. She loved a tough competition, but obviously an eight year battle with cancer was not what she had in mind. Marion went through a round of radiation and about a year of chemotherapy after learning that there was cancer in her lymph nodes. She was able to work during this time as a high school teacher. The chemotherapy was given in a "two weeks on-two weeks off" manner, which gave her body a chance to recover before she went in for the next round of chemotherapy. She fought through that year still keeping her head up, cooking the best family meals, and being an active parent. The family was hopeful after this first year. 

Essentially, she had 4 1/2 years of remission before the cancer returned to her lungs, at which point her husband took her on a dream vacation to Sweden while she was battling cancer for the second time. As days passed, she remained  hopeful. Marion would often  say, "Every day I survive this, they are getting closer to a cure."

Marion was able to keep a sense of humor about the disease and the side effects of treatment.  While cooking, she would joke about her wig becoming singed while leaning into the oven to take something out.  At windy Candlestick Park to watch the Giants, she had  to tightly secure a scarf, because her wig almost blew away from us.

The negative impact that cancer had on her family’s life is real.  She didn’t get to attend her children’s college graduations.  She didn’t get to attend all of her children’s weddings or rock a newborn grandchild to sleep.  She didn’t experience the joy of bragging about grandchildren. She didn’t get to enjoy retirement, although she worked incredibly hard.   Her children didn’t get the luxury of hearing her wise advice maybe when they needed it most as adults. 

Marion would be happy to know that today the survival rates are much better than they were the day she died in March of 1991 at age 59. Had she not talked to her neighbor that day and discovered a lump, there's a chance that her battle could have been much shorter. Marion would want people to continue to educate themselves and keep working toward a cure.

 

submitted by Kara Pryor