Why this marathon runner is already a winner
Cancer survivor raises cash to help others fight disease
STRICKEN WITH CANCER, Luisa Lyons lay in her hospital bed high above First Ave. in Manhattan.
It was Nov. 2, 2014 — the day of the New York City Marathon — and Lyons was recovering from a stem cell transplant.
Alone in her room at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the Australian-born actress and former cross country runner stared out from her window as the athletes charged up the avenue.
“It was exciting to be able to see them and hope that one day I would be able to do that too,” Lyons said. That day is nearly here. Lyons, 33, is set to run her first marathon Nov. 5.
She’s running in the New York Marathon as part of Fred’s Team, a fund-raising effort for cancer research at the hospital she credits with saving her life.
“I feel very lucky to be able to give back to that by raising money through Fred's Team,” said Lyons, who lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn.
Her journey began in 2014 when she was working at a summer camp in Connecticut.
Lyons was attacked by insects, leaving her with bites on her legs that still bothered her days later.
She eventually went to the doctor and her blood was taken for testing.
The results came within 24 hours — Lyons was suffering from acute myeloid leukemia.
She was dumbfounded.
“I’m an organic eating vegetarian who never smokes, rarely drinks, exercises and meditates,” she recalled telling the doctors. “I don’t have cancer.” Lyons began chemotherapy sessions at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut. She suffered through the treatments for two grueling years. “It ravaged my body,” Lyons said. “I lost a ton of weight, I put on a ton of weight. I went into early menopause.” The side effects kept piling up. “My fingernails and toenails fell off one by one,” she recalled. “It really wreaked havoc on my body.” Lyons underwent four rounds of chemo, culminating in the intensive stem cell transplant at Memorial Sloan Kettering. The transplant was a success and Lyons couldn’t wait to start running again. She twice signed up for a 5K race but health setbacks derailed those plans. Lyons completed the Brooklyn Half Marathon this past May. Afterward she set her sights on the New York City marathon.
She’ll be running on the third anniversary of her life-saving transplant, on the route that will take her right past Memorial Sloan Kettering. “Three years later to be running it is very cool,” said Lyons.
“I just wouldn't be here if it weren't for modern medicine, and their research, and the work that they do.”
Donations to Lyons’ team can be made at: mskcc.convio.net/site/TR?px=2970093&f r_id=2921&pg=personal
The 2017 TCS New York City Marathon will be televised live on Sunday, Nov. 5, on WABCTV, Ch. 7 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and for the rest of the nation on ESPN2 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.