Clare Halloran knew something was seriously wrong when the seasoned runner felt severely fatigued and weak after starting the 2013 Canberra Times Fun Run.
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She was right. "My pace was deteriorating a lot despite training regularly," she said. "That was the first sign that something was wrong."
The then 28-year-old's life turned upside down soon after when she discovered the excessive fatigue, rapid weight loss and the lump on her neck was due to aggressive Hodgkin Lymphoma.
She was wheeled into surgery the day she was diagnosed and needed to begin intensive treatment immediately.
"It was a huge shock. I was young and fit, I had graduated from university months before and had just moved from Melbourne to Canberra for work," she said. "I felt like my life was turning upside down just as it was starting."
Hodgkin lymphoma, or Hodgkin disease, is a cancer of the lymphatic system, which is part of the immune system.
The risk of being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma by age 85 is 1 in 410, while the disease has a five-year survival rate of about 87 per cent in Australia.
Ms Halloran moved back to Melbourne for two years to be with her family during the difficult time, which included six months of chemotherapy and 20 sessions of radiation. But her strength endured and she beat the cancer.
Having returned to Canberra to work as a social worker for the Department of Human Services, Ms Halloran is re-attempting the Canberra Times Fun Run on Sunday – which happens to be her 31st birthday.
As she starts the 14-kilometre course outside the Canberra Hospital, she'll remember the indescribable devastation she felt the day she was diagnosed there. But, more importantly, she will look back at her journey and the progress she's made.
"Every time I run I think back to those days when I thought I could never run again," she said. "It is so nice to be well enough to be doing what I love again. Sunday will be a celebration of health and life."
Ms Halloran was running to raise awareness and funds for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, where she received her treatment.