For Rafael Lucea, life is about moving forward.
Crossing the finish line of one marathon signals the start of training for the next —the 5 a.m. wake-up calls, the pain, the discipline.
“It keeps you honest,” said Dr. Lucea, an assistant professor of international business at the George Washington University School of Business.
The longtime competitive swimmer began long-distance running when he moved from Spain to the United States a little over a decade ago, and he has since competed in the Pittsburgh Marathon, the Boston Marathon and the New York City Marathon, among many other races.
Then, in January 2013 (while Dr. Lucea was in the midst of training for an Ironman Triathlon), one of the most joyful days of his life—the birth of his second child—was followed two weeks later by one of the worst.
“You have cancer,” an emergency room doctor told him.
Dr. Lucea was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a fast-growing type of malignant brain tumor. Generally, patients with this particular form of brain cancer survive less than 15 months following diagnosis. He immediately underwent a successful surgery at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Md., followed by six weeks of radiation and a year of chemotherapy.
No one would have blamed Dr. Lucea if he stayed stagnant that year, if he had put away his running shoes and took some time to be somber.
Instead, he chose to do what he does best—he kept moving.
“At some point I told myself, ‘You know what? This illness is not going to define me. I’m going to keep doing the things that I’ve always done. I’m going to live life in a full way—the same way I had been doing,’” he said.
It was shortly after when Dr. Lucea received an email from the GW Cancer Institute. For the fourth consecutive year, the institute was seeking runners for the annual Marine Corps Marathon and 10K in October to support its efforts to eliminate cancer and cancer disparities.
Without hesitation, Dr. Lucea registered for the race. Soon after, his wife posted an update on the website where she had been alerting family and friends about her husband’s treatment.
Then, to Dr. Lucea’s surprise, donations came pouring in. Family, friends and colleagues helped raise $2,135 for the institute—the highest total raised by any single member of the GW Cancer Institute’s Marine Corps Marathon team.
“It’s something that was very foreign to me—people donating money like this,” Dr. Lucea said. “That’s something amazing that happens in this country. People are more aware of putting their money where their mouth is, and that’s why the state of medical research is much more advanced in the U.S. than in many other countries.”
On Oct. 27, 2013, Dr. Lucea joined close to 100 other runners from the GW Cancer Institute team at the starting line of the Marine Corps Marathon at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., as his family and friends cheered him on.
Faculty and staff from the GW School of Business ran in support of Dr. Lucea at the 2013 Race for Hope in May, which Dr. Lucea completed a few months before participating in the 2013 Marine Corps Marathon in October.
This year, the GW Cancer Institute is participating in the 39th annual Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 26 and has 13 marathon entries still available. The 10K is also open to all runners until the MCM sells out of entries. A marathon runner has a minimum fundraising amount of $650, and the 10K runners have a suggested fundraising goal of $250.
Other than registration fees, the funding goes directly to support the institute’s operational costs. Working in collaboration with the GW Hospital and GW Medical Faculty Associates, the institute brings multidisciplinary clinical, research, education and outreach programs together in a comprehensive approach to cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and survivorship. The institute’s major research initiatives include a patient navigation research program as well as a project that evaluates cancer survivorship care models.
“Our focus is specifically on reaching vulnerable populations and helping to improve patient-centered care so that patients are getting timely, quality care from the right provider at the right time,” said GW Cancer Institute Director Mandi Pratt-Chapman.
She said running in the race will not only raise funds for cancer research, but it will also boost awareness and physical activity within the broader population.
“It’s the perfect match,” she said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the GW community to do something to achieve personal health goals while significantly impacting the lives of those who need support,” she said.
Dr. Lucea is unsure whether he will participate in this year’s Marine Corps Marathon. For now, he is most focused on embracing—and being grateful for—each day that he is granted.
He said he has learned that he has no say about when he will die and chooses instead to focus on what he can control—how he will live his life.
“What I can do is to try and stay healthy and to enjoy time with my kids, my wife and my friends for as long as we have the chance to be together,” he said. “Being faced with death and having a second chance—and I don’t know for how long the second chance is going to be—it’s a good reminder that every day is a special day no matter what happens, whether it rains or shines.”
Dr. Lucea remains proud of his achievement in running the 2013 Marine Corps Marathon and raising money to support the GW Cancer Institute.
Registration for the 2014 GW Cancer Institute Marine Corps Marathon and the MCM10K is now open. The GW Cancer Institute welcomes all runners in the GW community— students, faculty, staff and alumni and their family and friends—to be a part of this year's GW Cancer Institute Marine Corps Marathon team. Interested runners and donors can register here. Please email [email protected] or call 202-994-2449 if you have any questions.