cancer

Mansfield Cancer Warrior Runs Ultramarathon to Raise Money and Awareness

Ultramarathon runner Lori Llera was determined to beat cancer and get back to running.

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Ultramarathons are not for everyone, but the 50-mile race is a walk in the compared to the challenge Lori Llera faced...ovarian cancer.

"That was rough," Llera said. "I think my running mindset, my ultra-endurance mindset was what got me through."

In January 2022, Llera was a newlywed. She noticed subtle symptoms.

"I had been gaining a little bit of weight and I thought it was happiness pounds," Llera recalled.

It wasn't. There were other symptoms; loss of appetite, and pain in her pelvis and abdomen. Llera, a nurse practitioner, went to the doctor.

"I had an 8-centimeter tumor on my right ovary and Dr. Koon is like, a baby's head is 10 centimeters," Llera said. "So it was huge!"

It was Stage 3C ovarian cancer.

"We got a biopsy," Dr. Erik Colin Koon, GYN Oncology Division Director, Baylor Scott & White said. "Proved that it was ovarian cancer, and started her on therapy."

Chemotherapy and surgeries left Llera weak, but she was determined to get back running.

"I just remember sitting in that chemo chair thinking, you know, I'm gonna get out of this chair and I'm gonna run 50-miles," Llera said. "Just to spite this disease!"

She started walking, first to the mailbox, then 3 miles. That turned to short runs, and then when her chemo was done, Llera kept the promise to herself. She ran an ultramarathon for the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition's Team Teal.

She ran 50 miles, wearing 50 stickers with 50 challenges she faced in her cancer fight. Every mile that passed, Llera's running partner peeled a sticker off as she told the story behind it.

"This 'shero'...I'm just in awe and admiration of her strength and determination," Oncology Nurse Tanisha Watson said. "If I had to describe her in one word, I would describe her as a warrior."

"Our goal for our patients is not just to survive, it's to thrive," Koon said. "She's clearly thriving."

"I figured God and Dr. Koon saved me," Llera said. "I should do everything I can to bring awareness to ovarian cancer."

For more information about ovarian cancer, click here.

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