Before I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, I was a running, non-smoking, rarely drinking, meditating, vegetarian. How and why the hell did I get blood cancer?

The following is a list of reasons told, or sent, to me by a wide range of people (none of them doctors) during my illness: ​

I got cancer because of: ​

• Genetics
• My DNA
• The need to heal the pain of my ancestors
• The need to release old energy
• The need to shift my energy in moving to the United States
• Karma
• ​God's plan
  
• The fact that I “deserved it”
• Holding a deep hurt
• Holding deep-seated resentment
• Carrying hatred
• Being born premature
• Suppressed issues from my childhood
• Dealing with issues from my childhood
• There being too much yeast in my system
• Being a vegetarian
• Being too skinny
• Drinking milk/eating cheese/eating food
• Not drinking milk/eating cheese/eating food
• Eating food from the place that had the sign about carcinogens six years before
• Too much exercise
• Not enough exercise
• Chemtrails
• City air
• My school being under a power line
• Living next to a highway
• Running along a highway as a teenager
• Potential cancer clusters in my high school
• Potential cancer clusters at my university
• ​Too much plane travel
• Too much stress
• Bad luck ​

According to Sloan Kettering, 

"Risk factors" for AML include exposure to high doses of radiation or benzene, smoking, previous radiation or chemotherapy (yup, the cure that saved my life could also one day kill me. Fun!), and a family history (parent, child, or sibling. Most people who are diagnosed with AML do not have a direct relative with the disease). 

I haven't been exposed to high doses of radiation or benzene, I was never a smoker, and I don't have a direct family member who has had AML. 

Here’s the real reason I got cancer:
​

​This is why we need to fund further research into understanding, and treating, leukemia. 

I’m not magical or special. I was really lucky. I was in the right place at the right time for a shitty thing to happen to my body. I had access to one of the best cancer hospitals on the planet.

I'm incredibly fortunate to be in remission, and strong enough to be able to run a marathon. But fear of relapse is very real. According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, only 26.8% of AML patients survive five years beyond diagnosis. 

Medicine, science, and the hard work of many dedicated doctors saved my life when I got cancer. We still don’t know why I got it in the first place. Or if I will be one of the people who survives beyond five years. 

​There’s still time to donate to Fred’s Team before I run the NYC Marathon on November 5. The funds we raise will go towards furthering leukemia research at Sloan Kettering. 

If you’ve been inspired by my runs, if you want to help kick stupid​ cancer’s butt, if you want to know why a healthy 29-year-old woman was diagnosed with a disease that usually affects men in their sixties, please make a donation today. Even small contributions can make a big difference! 

Will you help me make cancer history?