God only cries for the living

'Cause it's the living that are left to carry on.

An' all the angels up in Heaven

They're not grieving because they're gone.

There's a smile on their faces

'Cause they're in a better place than they've ever known.

God only cries for the living

'Cause it's the living that are so far from home.

From left to right: Myla Hernandez (Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma) Me crossing the finish line; Brittany Banker (Ovarian Cancer) & Myself (Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma) with our medals, and Amy Segalle's (Thyroid Cancer) son, Gage.

November 13, 2009 is a day that will always be remembered. Not because it was Friday the 13th, but because it was the day I was diagnosed with Diffuse Large B Cell Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. In January, I went to the info meeting for Team in Training in Omaha, Nebraska. Just 4 months later, I was crossing the finish line at the Country Music Marathon on April 24, 2010 in Nashville. Not only did I cross the finish line physically, I crossed the finish line in a long journey that I will never forget. From the biopsy, to chemo, to now. I have many finish lines in my life but this has been the biggest.

During my training, I was admitted to the hospital for a week, had a picc line put in for my chemo/meds and still kept my spirits up. This time, I will be crossing the finish line cancer free! On May 12, 2010 I was given the great news that I have no evidence of disease. I finished my last round of chemo on June 2nd. I am now training for the Chicago Marathon on October 10, 2010 (10/10/10).

Having cancer has given me the opportunity to meet some really incredible people. Not only other people who are fighting the same nasty disease as I am, but those advocating as well. I am running for everyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer, and the families and friends of those who know what life is like with the aftermath of cancer. All of us on Team in Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I am fortunate enough to be a survivor! I ask you to make a donation to my fundraiser and help support me in the race against cancer. You can follow my training at my personal blog: www.naturehippie20.blogspot.com

Love, Cashea

07/03/2010

It has been quite an adventure the past few weeks. After finishing my last chemo on June 2, I needed a vacation. I needed to clear my head and start fresh. There are only a few good things that come from having cancer. None of them one would directly ask for by saying "I want cancer so I won't have..." but the one good thing is that once you are a survivor and once you beat the disease that claims the lives of so many others, you can't help but take a new perspective on things. You can change anything you didn't like about your past and make the future yours. You can change others lives too. A new perspective came to me the morning of my first marathon with Team in Training. Standing there in the middle of the road in Nashville, I was overcome with so many emotions. "I have cancer. I'm running a marathon. I'm running a marathon a week after chemo. What am I doing?" I was asking myself what I was doing? How was I ever going to race? Where was I going to get the energy? Wearing the purple Team in Training jersy on race day, everyone knows what the purple represents. We run for cancer. We have a reason and a purpose for why we run. Ultimately, its not for the time, nor the experience. That adds to it. But we run to save lives. Add to it, I was the bald girl running in the Nashville marathon in a purple jersey and you wouldn't think of how many people would just stand and stare. I've been stared at. Alot. Sometimes it hurts, but you get over it. Let them stare. I'm a survivor.

BUT, in the midst of the thousands of runners, two people came to me and spoke to me. I knew I should have recognized their faces but at the time, I was still so nervous uabout waiting for the gun to go off. These two men came up and were the most friendly, most polite and most down to earth I have met. Asking about my cancer and giving me tips about the race. It was my first marathon none the less. Before the gun went off, we got our picture taken and they told me someone would get it to me. Then they said they were from Diamond Rio. Now, don't get me wrong. I know EVERY song that Diamond Rio has released. I dancned around the living room to Meet in the Middle and cried during I Believe. BUT, I just never knew what they looked like. Righ tthen, I never had to question why I was running the race. It was not about me. It was not about anyone else questioning my ability. It was that I was running the race for a cause. For a CURE. Diamond Rio gave me the peace of heart and spark knowing that you don't have to be the "one in a million" to make a difference. With their words of encouragement, I ran the race and did my all, crossing the finish line before THOUSANDS of others. Diamond Rio runs the Country Music marathon every year with the appropriately named "Team Rio" and run for the boys and girls club. They know why I run. Its the same reason they run. It maybe two different organizations, but we run.

Where am I getting at? Long story short, without a doubt, when my best friend Martha (who also accompanied me to Nashville duringn the race) and I saw that Diamond Rio was going to be at the Air Force Base just an hour away... we were going! It was one of the best decisions we could have made. Not to mention that we had just gotten back from traveling the east coast for 2 weeks before the show... that I had to work at the park until 5.. or that we were going to have to fight traffic and the massive amount of germs (not people, germs. hahaha) I haven't been in that kind of crowd since Nashville and both of us were still getting over a bug we caught on vacation. We were going! The best part of the night was the fact that once again I got to talk to Jimmy & Marty and make another achievement happen. I was celebrating the mark of 1 month post chemo with the men who opened my eyes to Nashville and the beginning of my journey with Team Rio who I will run with next year in Nashville. One month post chemo and HAIR. It may just be a quarter of an inch long, but it is there. Thank you Diamond Rio for giving me the encouragement I needed and the motivation to keep fighting! To everyone else who has helped along the way, Thank You! Please continue to help me reach my goal of $3500 and finding a cure for those who aren't celebrating their "one month post chemo".

(Jimmy, Me & Marty at the start of the Marathon)