Montclair Woman’s Breast Cancer Fight Leads To Boston Marathon

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Montclair’s Nancy Katz will be running the Boston Marathon this coming April to raise money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. But when the longtime community veterinarian laces up her running shoes for the iconic marathon, she’ll have a special motivation that separates her from many of the institute’s other supporters… the facility is where she was treated for breast cancer.

Katz recently reached out to Patch with a simple declaration: cancer is a disease that doesn’t need to limit your whole life. “I was shocked to learn the number of people who thought it does,” she said.

She has started an online fundraising page in support of her marathon run, which can be seen here. As of Thursday, the campaign has raised almost $21,000.

Katz shared some details about her own experience fighting cancer, as well as her personal connection to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

“On October 9, 2015 I was diagnosed with breast cancer after finding a small mass while I was showering. I think that there are not enough adjectives to describe the emotions I experienced. I was saddened, shocked, horrified and terrified all at the same time. I never thought that cancer could happen to me. I was a 47-year-old vegetarian, with no family history of breast cancer, with no genetic predisposition to the disease, who never smoked and who ran marathons.

“After an extensive collection of second and third opinions (have you met me?), I decided to be treated at Dana Farber. I knew about Dana Farber because I had run the Boston Marathon to help raise money for them in April of 2015. At that time, I was running to raise money for a disease I never thought I would have. In 2015 I raised money for Dana Farber because I wanted to make the world cancer-free and believed deeply in the organization. This time, it is personal… I am running because Dana Farber saved my life and gave it back to me.”

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Photo: Nancy Katz