#BraveLikeChristine
Name: Christine Thorn-Fischer
Diagnosis: Stage 4 Oligometastatic Breast Cancer
Years of Survivorship: 2 years
Location: Colorado
Follow Christine on Instagram.
Published on October 8th, 2024
“Being brave means being there for those around me. It means being an advocate for others and helping to prepare future generations for a brilliant life full of joy, empathy, and leadership. It means living my life to the fullest.”
How has running or staying physically active affected your journey?
“Until the spring of 2021, I was training at the elite level with goals of competing in the U.S. Olympic Trials on the track. After failing to overcome a hamstring injury, I stopped focusing on training at the elite level and turned my attention to my career as a teacher. In the summer of 2022, I felt the urge to start training hard again, aiming for the 2023 U.S. Track Championships. In the fall of 2022, I discovered a lump in my breast. As is common with the American healthcare system, it took from the time I found the lump in October to finally getting a biopsy in January 2023. During those intervening months, I experienced significant anxiety, and running was something I didn't have the energy for. I was finally diagnosed with breast cancer and we discovered it had spread to my spine and sacrum in February 2023. After undergoing egg retrievals to preserve our chances of starting a family and beginning chemotherapy, running finally became a retreat for me again. It seemed as though my body was fighting against me, and running became a way to reclaim it, to regain a piece of myself. I received chemotherapy every other week on Fridays for four months. Chemo day began with waking up and going for a run or a walk, followed by spending about seven to eight hours at the cancer center. The day after chemo, I typically felt good because of the steroids given, and I would go out for a short run. I would spend Sunday and Monday essentially sleeping all day, feeling pretty crummy. Then on Tuesday, I would be back to running. This was the first time in my running career that I shifted my mindset to using running solely to feel good, rather than for a goal race.
After finishing chemotherapy, my scans showed that my cancer was shrinking and the treatment was working! My husband was training for the TCS NYC Marathon in the fall of 2023, and, as I always do, I went along to support him. It was there, watching the runners finish behind the elites with their hands in the air—smiling, laughing, and crying—that I was first inspired to run a marathon of my own. So, I decided I wanted to try to enter the 2024 TCS NYC Marathon. I applied through the TCS teachers program and got in! As I have been training this summer and fall, it has been such a different experience compared to before I was diagnosed with cancer. It has truly been about enjoying running, feeling strong, and chasing a goal I never thought I would pursue (even though my husband is a professional marathoner, ha!). I have set a time goal for myself, but I don’t stress about whether I will get fit enough to achieve that time. With my white blood cell counts so low as I continue treatment, I get sick pretty frequently (being a teacher doesn’t help that, lol), and this build was no exception. I got COVID and had three weeks of low mileage, which in the past would have sent me spiraling. Now, I am just excited and happy to be moving my body again and running every day. When I line up for the marathon on November 3, it will be to honor my body and all the fighting it has done for me over the last two years. I will remember that day in February of 2023 when I was on the floor sobbing after googling ‘What does it mean when breast cancer spreads to your spine?’ and seeing ‘51% one-year survival rate’ or ‘3-5 year prognosis.’ Now, almost two years later, I have no evidence of disease, I am about to run my first marathon, and I am planning a future with Reed. I am so lucky.”
What advice do you have for people on staying fit throughout their recovery?
“My advice for people staying active during treatment and recovery is to give yourself grace. Remind yourself that being active is your way of honoring yourself and your body. It can be so easy to feel horrible and want to just stay on the couch or in bed, but your body, mind, and soul will be so grateful once you move. Do what feels good for you on that day. There were plenty of days during chemotherapy when I would go out for a run and have no idea what it was going to look like. Maybe I would make it 4 miles straight, maybe I would do 6 miles by stopping and walking every two miles, or maybe I could only make it half a mile, then I would walk for the rest of the time I set aside that day for moving my body. Grace. Remind yourself why you are out moving your body, and move with joy.“
What are some of your proudest accomplishments as a cancer survivor?
“I think what I am most proud of over the last 21 months is my attitude. I think back on these months, and they are, for sure, the most difficult months of my life. I have had to swallow some really hard truths, and there were days when I didn’t know if I could keep going. But throughout all of that, I was able to find joy. I allowed myself moments to experience the sorrow and the loss that cancer brings, but then reminded myself of all the wonderful things I have going for me as well. I spent more days laughing than crying, and more days doing the things I enjoy with the people I love than stressing over my treatment. I am proud that I have been able to allow myself to feel both, but I haven’t gotten stuck in the sorrow. I owe that to my husband, who has such an optimistic demeanor, my parents, who raised me to be action-minded—always looking forward, and my community, for being there in both the low moments and the high moments.”
How has Gabe's story impacted you or changed the way you view life as a cancer survivor?
“I can vividly remember sitting in our college cross-country house watching the 2017 U.S. Track Championships. I remember watching Gabe compete, and after crossing the finish line, being embraced by her other competitors. I didn’t know her, but I cried. I was in awe of her resilience, passion, and ambassadorship. I was in awe of how she fearlessly shared her story to raise awareness and compassion, so that other survivors might be able to see themselves in her. I didn’t have cancer—or at least didn’t know I had cancer—but I was in awe. Then, I was able to meet others who did know her. How they spoke of her and her legacy confirmed what I could sense about her from afar. Now, if I’m being honest, sometimes I get embarrassed that I have cancer. I watch intently to see if someone’s eyes hold pity for me, and it makes me physically nauseous. That’s when I think about Gabe. I never pitied Gabe. I saw her as brave, passionate, an athlete, and an advocate. I saw that having cancer doesn’t make you weak but strong. It makes you brave.”
What does it mean to be #BraveLikeCHristine?
“To me, being #bravelikeyou means continuing to find yourself during cancer. After a diagnosis, cancer is always in the room with you. For me, specifically, having a stage 4 diagnosis means I will be on treatment for the rest of my life. I feel that being brave means setting distant goals and planning for a life with the full intent of living it out. Being brave means being there for those around me. It means being an advocate for others and helping to prepare future generations for a brilliant life full of joy, empathy, and leadership. It means living my life to the fullest.”
WHAt Are you looking forward to in the near future?
“There is so much I am looking forward to in the near future! As I have finished chemotherapy and established a solid routine with my other treatment, I have been able to pick up running longer and more consistently again! I raised money for the Brave Like Gabe Foundation and am running as part of their team in the Twin Cities 10 Miler on October 6th. About a month later, I will race in my first marathon at the TCS NYC Marathon on November 3rd. Reed and I have also been exploring our options for starting a family (I am unable to carry a child for us because of the medication I am on), and I am so excited that I am in a position to see Reed become a dad and experience that part of life. It is something that, 18 months ago, I was unsure could be a reality for us. I am excited about continuing to live life to the fullest.“