A jarring collision with a rude skier changed the course of Liz\u00a0Healy\u2019s life in unimaginable ways.<\/p>\n
That fateful trip to Vermont in 2022 left Healy in excruciating pain. The MRI results were shocking \u2014 she had a fractured sacrum and a kidney tumor. She was diagnosed with Stage 2 kidney cancer.<\/p>\n
Further testing revealed the incomprehensible \u2014 she also had Stage 4 colon cancer that had spread to her liver and lymph nodes.<\/p>\n
Liz Healy, 49, was diagnosed with Stage 2 kidney cancer and Stage 4 colon cancer in 2022. She\u2019s set to take on Sunday\u2019s TCS New York City Marathon as a member of the New York Road Runners\u2019 Team Inspire and of Fred\u2019s Team, the official Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center running program. She\u2019s photographed here at MSK. Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n
\u201cMy journey has been incredibly difficult,\u201d Healy, 49, hoarsely told The Post as she battled vocal cord paralysis.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe colorectal cancer has spread to my bones. It\u2019s in my hip and femur and my shoulder and vertebrae and my brain,\u201d she added. \u201cI recently had radiation to my bones and my brain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet, the Westchester grandmother of three is forging ahead. She plans to walk Sunday\u2019s TCS New York City Marathon<\/a> as a member of the New York Road Runners\u2019 Team Inspire and of Fred\u2019s Team<\/a>, the official Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center running program.<\/p>\n Going the distance<\/p>\n Healy was a marathoner for years before her cancer diagnoses.<\/p>\n The management consultant ran the 2006 NYC marathon in 5 hours and 35 minutes at the age of 30. She also completed the 26.2-mile Marine Corps and Walt Disney World races.<\/p>\n Healy is a mom to three daughters and a grandmother of three. She\u2019s shown here with her youngest daughter, Ella.<\/p>\n \u201cMarathons are a great way to see a city or see a new location,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The mom of three had already signed up for the NYC marathon when she received the stunning cancer news.<\/p>\n \u201c[I] basically said to my husband, \u2018I\u2019m going to do this. I\u2019m going to raise money because 100% of the money raised goes directly to cancer research, and that is research that right now my life depends on and the lives of so many people depend on,\u2019 \u201d Healy recalled.<\/p>\n \u201cIt became another form of medicine for me.\u201d<\/p>\n A long road ahead<\/p>\n Until she got rammed by the skier coming off the chairlift, Healy was clueless that she was sick.<\/p>\n Now she recognizes there were some signs.<\/p>\n \u201cI had some bloating and more gas than usual,\u201d she shared, \u201cbut all my girlfriends dealt with symptoms like that at times, and I didn\u2019t think it was anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Healy was hit by another skier coming off a chairlift. The pain led to a life-changing MRI and subsequent cancer diagnoses.<\/p>\n Healy\u2019s diagnosis came at 45, the age most adults should start colorectal cancer screening<\/a>.<\/p>\n Undergoing a colonoscopy<\/a> wasn\u2019t her priority at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cI did not know how rapidly this disease is increasing in younger people,\u201d Healy explained. \u201cAt that point in time, I was a busy mom, an executive traveling around the world, and I would not have taken a day off to have a colonoscopy.\u201d<\/p>\n Colorectal cancer is forecasted<\/a> to become the leading cause of cancer death for people under 50 by 2030.<\/p>\n Researchers have pointed the finger at sedentary lifestyles<\/a>, unhealthy diets<\/a> and environmental exposures, though the exact reasons for the surge in younger cases are unknown.<\/p>\n Healy has been undergoing treatment at MSK while raising money for the cancer center\u2019s research. She\u2019s seen here in MSK\u2019s infusion room, where she gets treatment every two weeks, with her nurse, Joseph Bacani, BSN, RN. Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n The good news is that precancerous polyps can be found and removed in a colonoscopy, a crucial step in preventing colon cancer.<\/p>\n Healy now reminds people that the simple, painless procedure is a lot easier than chemotherapy, which is just one of the many treatments she has endured.<\/p>\n Running on fumes<\/p>\n Shortly after her 2022 diagnosis, Healy spent 10 hours in surgery getting cancer cut out of her colon, lymph nodes and liver and being fitted for a device that delivered chemotherapy to her liver.<\/p>\n She also had a portion of her kidney removed, underwent radiation and immunotherapy and played guinea pig in clinical trials.<\/p>\n Her favorite part of the course is mile 17, on First Avenue in front of MSK, where patients, doctors, nurses and staff cheer on runners. \u201cI\u2019ve been [inside], looked out the window, wanting to get out, wanting to go home,\u201d she told The Post. Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n She\u2019s going through a rough patch right now thanks to a \u201ctriple whammy.\u201d<\/p>\n At times over the last few months, she has struggled to walk or even move. Radiation to her brain and bones has left her with extreme fatigue.<\/p>\n And vocal cord paralysis has allowed fluid to pass into her airway and lungs, triggering a bacterial infection known as aspiration pneumonia.<\/p>\n She hopes to get a boost from completing the marathon.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce I\u2019ve finished the marathon, gotten my medal, it gives me two or three months of just that runner\u2019s high,\u201d Healy said, \u201cwhich, to me, is as important as the chemotherapies and radiation surgeries.\u201d<\/p>\n Finishing a marathon gives Healy a runner\u2019s high that lasts months. She\u2019s pictured here on the right, after the 2024 race.<\/p>\n Her favorite part of the course is mile 17, on First Avenue in front of MSK, where patients, doctors, nurses and staff cheer on runners.<\/p>\n She takes the opportunity to reenergize herself and think about the patients battling for their lives at the hospital.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been there, looked out the window, wanting to get out, wanting to go home,\u201d she mused.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that I\u2019m out and able to move my body \u2026 it allows me to show gratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n A continuous journey<\/p>\n Healy completed the marathon on chemo for the last three years.<\/p>\n In 2022, she finished just shy of 8 hours with two friends.<\/p>\n The following year, four pals joined her at the marathon. Nine accompanied her in 2024.<\/p>\n