Cancer Survivor Looks Forward To Tulsa's Race For The Cure

More than 200 teams will be lacing up their running shoes and participating in this year's Race for the Cure in downtown Tulsa. And right in the middle will be hundreds of survivors like Marolyn Allred. 

Marolyn wasn't given much time to live, but she has beaten the odds and is ready to Race for the Cure. 

It's hard to get Marolyn Allred to slow down long enough to talk but when you do, she has quite a story to tell. 18 years ago she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. IBC or inflammatory breast cancer. 

"I'm in prep getting ready for surgery and the surgeon comes out and tells my son and my husband, I haven't even operated yet but she has cancer because I can't believe the dramatic change in five days so I'm going in and we'll do what we can do but she has cancer," said Marolyn Allred. 

For an active, healthy woman, that news rocked her world. First, she began intense chemotherapy, losing her hair but that didn't slow her down. 

"Obviously there was something wrong with me but she was still out there. I didn't miss a ball game, I didn't miss a party or I didn't miss a wedding. Whatever was coming up in our life, we went," said Marolyn Allred. 

That was followed by surgery and then more chemo and radiation and ultimately victory. 

"I've had this journey over 18 years, where breast cancer being a death sentence to it's just a bump in the road and it is truly a bump in the road," said Marolyn Allred. 

Since then, you can find Marolyn participating in the Komen Race for the Cure. You can see her along the race route, decked out in pirate costumes. They are all part of Marolyn's Mateys! 

"It's so special and I actually credit my friends and my team with my continued survival and being cancer free. The support from people is everything," said Marolyn Allred. 

Marolyn is looking forward to this year's race, reconnecting with other survivors and spreading the word about breast cancer and sharing the lesson that cancer has taught her. 

"Everyday's a gift and I learned that from cancer and I learned that from losing my husband to sudden cardiac death. Every day is absolutely a gift and nobody has a guarantee," said Marolyn Allred. 

If you'd like to form your own team like Marolyn did, that would be great or you can join my team. Go to my website and follow the prompts. The Komen Race for the Cure is Saturday, September 27, 2014 at ONEOK Field. We hope you'll join us in the fight against breast cancer.