GILBERT, AZ — October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Sadly, one in eight women will hear the words, "You have breast cancer," in their lifetime.
ABC15 recently spoke to Marina Blackford, a busy wife, mom, motivational speaker, avid runner, and breast cancer coach, to learn more about how she's motivating other women - and herself - through her passion.
"They're always asking me when my next race is," explains Marina --And you would too if you saw all the medals, race bibs, and photos in her Gilbert garage.
In 2015, Marina would mark two major milestones in the span of a week --First, learning she had qualified for the Boston Marathon, a lifelong dream.
One week later the nightmare came.
At just 31-years-old, Marina learned she had an aggressive genetic form of breast cancer. At that point, Marina's mom was a two-time breast cancer survivor. Having noticed an ache in her breast, Marina went for a mammogram and genetic testing which is how she learned the news.
So Marina began a different type of marathon through her sixteen chemotherapy infusions, losing her hair, and a double-mastectomy, Marina took this race step by step and would earn something more important than a medial.
"With four months left to train, I was cleared and made it to Boston as a survivor," says Marina.
In 2016, she was able to complete her first Boston Marathon and picked up a major life lesson on the road.
"It was about leaning into all this help that I had received...It's important because a lot of times, we don't get help because we are not open to it, and so that's why it is important to talk to people."
Which is exactly what Marina has done, connecting to people on her YouTube page her social media sites like Instagram and her website, deciding to go public in hopes of helping other women.
Marina even added a new title — "Breast Cancer Coach."
"I connect with people so they're not alone."
She's also helping women navigate doctor's appointments, treatments, and learning not just to survive, but also to thrive.
Even when her breast cancer returned in 2020, her online community was just what the doctor had ordered, learning it wasn't just medicine for her, but for all of her followers.
"It was both," explains Marina. "Support for me and hope for others, that if this happened to them or a loved one that we could get through it."
Six years later, Marina is cancer-free with a realization on the road --seeing how her time training was helping her win the race that mattered most.
"I remember moments feeling sad and scared and wanting to power through it, but in those moments when I paused, I remember how grateful I was for that pause. It gave me time to recharge. So it was again releasing how everything has to go and taking the next step."
Marina will be speaking at the American Cancer Society's East Valley Relay for Life presented by Big O' Tires on Saturday, October 17 starting at 3PM at Westwood High School in Mesa. To learn more, click https://secure.acsevents.org/site/STR?pg=entry&fr_id=112228
