This fall I will be running my very first marathon and raising money for the Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center as I train.

When my mom was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year we were devastated. She’s young, she’s strong, and she’s extremely diligent about getting her annual screenings. Unfortunately, this type of cancer isn’t something doctors screen for. Less than 1% of the 2 million people diagnosed with cancer every year in the United States are diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma– making my already exceptional mother even more exceptional.

While being unique is generally a good thing in life, we quickly learned that it's less than ideal in the world of cancer. Every doctor she spoke to after the initial diagnosis agreed on three things – this cancer is rare, it is serious, and it needs to be treated immediately. However, none of them seemed to know how to treat it or even what prognosis to give. Any cancer diagnosis is scary and overwhelming, but being diagnosed with a cancer that no doctor seems to know how to approach is especially terrifying.

After weeks of grim news and unanswered questions, my mom finally made her way to the Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center for a consult. During their first meeting, the doctors answered all of her questions, laid out a treatment plan, and even gave her a couple of backup plans just to be safe. My mom told them how scary and frustrating it was to be diagnosed with such a rare cancer, and they responded with this: “It may be rare, but it’s not rare to us. This is what we do.”

The research that Massey does makes treating rare cancers like my mom’s possible, and I am so grateful for the care, compassion, resources, and support they have offered to her and our whole family throughout this journey. Massey gave my mom a path forward when no one else would, and they gave our whole family hope for the future.

I am taking on this challenge because I want help the Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center continue to conduct life-saving research and provide families like mine with the treatment options, resources, and hope they need to fight even the rarest cancers. More importantly, I am doing it to honor my mom –to show her that she is not fighting alone, and to remind her that no challenge is too big for her or the women she raised to overcome.

Donate today to support the important work that Massey does, and leave a message for my incredible mother, Denise McCuistion, to let her know how much she is loved and how many of us are in her corner!