Our Blog

Learn more about our models and the members of our community that come together to impact local families.

 

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We Tell Your Story

Part of Runway's mission is to honor the legacies and stories of those who have been impacted by breast cancer. Our blog page is dedicated to helping us share those stories.

 

Learn more about the importance and impact of our blog by watching the following video.

Love Local, Concord: Julie Hagan

By Caroline O'Donnell | June 3, 2024

Hello everyone, I’m Julie Hagan, and I’m honored to be heretonight with all of you. Thank you, Olivia and Runway forRecovery, for inviting me to share my story in this wonderfulcommunity. Two years ago, instead of being here with you at this LoveLocal Event, I was at home with my husband Cary and our twodaughters, Brenna and Addison, processing the fact that I wasjust diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer wasn’t something I expected. It doesn’t run inmy family, and I got my yearly checkups. Yet, THERE IT WAS,detected through a routine mammogram. My diagnosis wasDuctal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS),…

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Love Local, Newburyport:

By Caroline O'Donnell | May 13, 2024

Twelve years ago, our lives took an unexpected turn when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Currently, I am 21 years old, but only being 9 at the time, I remember the day when our lives changed. Our family had this upcoming trip planned for school vacation week, but all of a sudden, mom was “sick” and we could no longer go. 

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Love Local, Newburyport: Amy Burke

By Caroline O'Donnell | May 13, 2024

On the day of my diagnosis, I remember having to call all of my family members separately. When I called each of them, I remember telling them two words that I held onto when the doctor first broke the news to me, “It’s treatable and curable!”

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Michelle Usitalo: Partner, BakerHostetler

By Katy Hylton | May 1, 2024

Michelle Usitalo is a Partner at BakerHostetler where she has worked since 2011. She is a commercial litigator and a member of the firm’s Global Fraud and International Asset Tracing and Recovery team, focusing on multijurisdictional proceedings and complex business matters, bankruptcy litigation, and cases involving international corporations. Michelle grew up in Massachusetts attending Nashoba Brooks (where she first met Olivia at age 9!) and Middlesex School in Concord, before attending Emory University and Brooklyn Law School. She now lives in Dobbs Ferry, New York with her husband, Eric, and two elementary school-aged boys.  Michelle has loved watching Runway grow…

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Sara Weiss: Clinical Consultant

By Katy Hylton | May 1, 2024

Sara Weiss is a three-time cancer survivor, an active leader and volunteer for cancer organizations, and a clinical trial expert who has dedicated her life to making a difference in oncology. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer at age 30, and again at age 48. She was diagnosed with head and neck cancer at age 53. After multiple surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation, she is grateful to be healthy and active. Professionally, Sara has focused her career on cancer clinical testing and has developed a strong foundation for evaluating research and clinical trials on a scientific basis. For 25 years she…

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