Tawnia Provost's Detroit Marathon supporting Esophageal Cancer Action Network (ECAN)
Tawnia Provost's Detroit Marathon
Tawnia Provost's Detroit Marathon supporting Esophageal Cancer Action Network (ECAN)
Why Participate?
The type of Esophageal Cancer caused by reflux disease is increasing at a faster rate than any other cancer in the U.S. Sadly, only those who catch their cancer at the earliest stages are likely to be cured. So finding this cancer early is very important.
Only one in five patients diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer will survive five years because it is most often caught at late stages. The disease is often only discovered when patients have a hard time swallowing because of a large tumor in their esophagus.
Though considered a rare disease, Esophageal Cancer takes more American lives each year than melanoma skin cancer or cervical cancer.
Only 4.6% of patients will survive a stage four diagnosis. Awareness, early detections and effective intervention are crucial to saving lives.
Esophageal Cancer, while considered a deadly disease, isn't included in the government fund for medical research. We are trying to spread awareness to change that. Research funding makes a difference. In 2016, the National Cancer Institute spent $1,669 on medical research into Esophageal Cancer for each death due to this devastating disease. It amounted to just one-half of a percent of the total Federal cancer research budget. But Esophageal Cancer is responsible for 2.6% of all of the cancer deaths in this country. Click here to help!
Participating in any way can help spread the cause, and hopefully stop occurrences in the future, of Esophageal Cancer.
About the Cause
ECAN was created with the primary goal to raise awareness of the risk of Esophageal Cancer posed by persistent heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease (known as GERD). ECAN launched the first Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month effort in 2009 and since then, governments, businesses and other organizations throughout the nation have recognized April as Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month year after year!
Over time, it became clear that an effective battle with this devastating disease must be fought on several levels. While increased awareness remains ECAN’s primary focus, educating patients about their options for prevention, early detection and treatment has become a priority. ECAN has become a trusted and reliable source for the latest in medical research affecting those at risk for Esophageal Cancer.
Growing up I always participated in local Relay for Life events for people I knew. It wasn't until 2013 that cancer directly turned my world as I knew it upside down. My Mom, who was only 47, was diagnosed with advanced stage esophageal cancer which had also metastasized to several other organs including her stomach, lymph nodes and liver. What we originally thought was treatable cancer quickly turned into an agonizing fight. For four months, I watched my Mom battle cancer with a positive outlook and the best attitude despite the aggressive treatment regimen that she was put on. Unfortunately, her courageous fight came to an end in February of 2014. She was 48, and I was 19. It has been 5 years since her passing, and the marathon will be the 6 year anniversary of her diagnosis.
I am dedicating my time to train for my second marathon in order to give back. My first marathon was the Philadelphia Marathon in November 2018 (sponsoring AACR), and it was a phenomenal experience, but I want to do something with more of a direct impact on the specific type of cancer that changed my world into what it is now. Not until I was the one sitting beside my Mom while she received chemotherapy did I quite understand what it meant to feel helpless. Watching cancer take the life of the woman that gave me life is quite easily one of the most difficult things I have ever endured. Luckily, I had a phenomenal support team to lean on. Among other things, I want to be able to provide even the smallest bit of comfort to someone who is fighting, or fighting alongside someone with cancer.