The fight against cancer has always been a passion of mine. In college, I served on the Board of the American Cancer Society Relay for Life chapter for four years. In 2021, I ran the New York Marathon in honor of my uncle, an avid marathon runner who we lost far too young to pancreatic cancer.
I was living a very active lifestyle (being an avid cross-fitter, golfer, skier, volleyball player, and more). Then, in October 2023, at age 29, after a month of fevers, fatigue, and migraines so severe that I couldn’t walk, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This aggressive blood cancer required immediate treatment and a five-week hospital stay. I embarked on a seven-month intensive regimen that included over 72 chemo infusions, 15 spinal taps, 25 MRIs/CT scans/ultrasounds, five bone marrow biopsies, 25+ blood and platelet transfusions, and countless other interventions.
With only two weeks left of this grueling timeline (to be followed by months of immunotherapy and years of maintenance chemo), I suffered a dramatic complication from chemo, and my liver went into acute failure. With extremely low blood counts and platelets, every intervention came with massive risks, and I ended up in a coma-like state on a feeding tube in the ICU. My team concluded my liver was likely beyond repair, and I was placed on an organ donor list. My brother heroically tried to donate a portion of his liver to give me a chance. At that point, though, I was turned down by the transplant surgeons, given my extremely slim odds of survival. My family and I were staring down the final days of my life.
With many small miracles and an incredible team of doctors who employed every treatment in their arsenal (including dialysis, plasmapheresis, and a therapy targeted at curing the liver disease), I became one of the lucky ones, managing not only to pull through the worst days but to make a complete recovery without a transplant. When I woke up, I was back to square one of recovery, having to build up the strength just to even stand up and walk on my own.
I’m incredibly happy to report that since then, my treatment has gone much more smoothly. With advances like immunotherapy and CAR-T, there are less damaging and insufferable ways to fight this disease. Over the past year, while getting maintenance chemo and immunotherapy, my body has recovered, allowing me to travel, propose to my girlfriend, and even get back to the CrossFit gym and the ski mountain.
I'm incredibly excited to announce I have recovered enough to run the NYC marathon this year for Blood Cancer United's Team In Training!
I still have another year and a half of chemotherapy maintenance treatment, as is standard in this three-year program. As I begin my marathon training this summer, I’m still finishing the last month of immunotherapy, running while carrying a pump that dispenses a continuous infusion through a PICC line in my arm.
Is running a marathon while getting cancer treatment reckless? Maybe. Is there any way that’s going to stop me? Not a chance. The thought of countless children enduring this debilitating process that pushed me to within an inch of losing my life is enough motivation to run 100 marathons.
Nicholas
acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
