How did we get here?
•With 8 rounds of chemo and a double mastectomy recently behind me and 12 rounds of chemo to go, my physical therapist made a recommendation that made me roll my eyes – “why don’t you try distance running?”
•With zero expectations - I started running, 30 seconds at a time.
•By the time I could run a continuous mile, I was hooked. By the time I could run 2 miles I committed to train for a 10k to run to my last scheduled chemo infusion.
•One thing led to another and the 10k turned into a fundraiser. Soon after, people started asking to run with me – in person and virtually. We raised over $16,000 for cancer research together that year.
•The next fall a friend asked “when is the next race?”
•The rest, as they say, is history.
~Erinn, Founder, President, breast cancer suvivor
- Since December 2022 we have raised over $55,000 together for cancer research
- In March of 2025 we officially registered Cancer Can Suck A Cactus as a nonprofit in the state of Maine and in April we submitted for 501(c)3 status
Erinn running to her last schedule chemo infusion in December of 2022. The race was called the chemo day 10k that year. Nonprofit co-founder Elizabeth Miller helped push Erinn's son most of the way so she could finish the race with him. He spent many evenings training with her for the race, earning him the nickname little coach.
