Model Profiles
Amy Burke’s Story
Amy Burke has always wanted to prove to herself that she could run a marathon.
This year, she did exactly that as part of Runway for Recovery’s first Boston Marathon team.
At the time, Amy was still in maintenance treatment, receiving a monthly shot and seeing her oncologist every month. But when Runway received marathon bibs, Amy knew it was her sign.
“If I’m going to run it for someone, I’m going to run it for Runway,” Amy says.
Read MoreAngela LaFave’s Story
Angela LaFave first understood breast cancer through her father.
In 2015, her dad was diagnosed with breast cancer, a disease most people still rarely associate with men. He had a mastectomy and made it through that chapter. Years later, in 2020, Angela stood beside him as leukemia took his last breath.
That same year, during the isolation of COVID, Angela was diagnosed with breast cancer herself.
This October, Angela steps onto the Runway stage carrying both stories: her father’s and her own.
Read MoreDeborah Williams’s Story
Living with metastatic breast cancer, Deborah has had to navigate the mental exhaustion that comes with knowing treatment may never fully end.
Someone once told her something that has stayed with her:
“It takes more energy to worry about dying than it does to live.”
Deborah carries that with her.
“Spend your time living day to day instead of spending your time worrying about if you’re going to die,” she says.
This October, Deborah returns to the Runway stage ready to dance, celebrate, and spend her energy living.
Read MoreRachael Asselin’s Story
Rachael Asselin first came to Runway as a daughter who had lost her mother.
Now, through her role on the Runway Board as Chair of Family Grants, Rachael helps support children and families navigating the illness or loss of their own mothers.
This year, as Runway celebrates its 20th Anniversary, Rachael is reflecting on what it means to have grown alongside the organization, to have outlived her mother, and to help build the kind of community she once needed.
Read MoreSara Weiss’s Story
Sara Weiss’ children have grown up on the Runway stage.
When Sara first became involved, they were young, watching their mother turn her breast cancer diagnosis into purpose. Over the years, Runway became part of their lives too — a place where they could feel connected, understood, and empowered to help others.
For Sara, that may be one of Runway’s greatest gifts: giving children a place to belong, to understand what their families have been through, and to learn that they can make a difference too.
“Runway has meant the world for them,” Sara says.
Read MoreSiobhan Donovan’s Story
Siobhan Donovan is returning to the Runway stage with her children by her side.
When Siobhan was first diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, her children were so young that much of the cancer world was outside their understanding. Now, as they get older, Siobhan wants them to experience the parts of this community that have brought her support, joy, and connection.
“It’s not all bad,” Siobhan says. “It’s not all bad, and you’re not in it alone.”
As she approaches five years since her diagnosis, Siobhan is holding many emotions at once: gratitude, joy, fear, heaviness, and hope. Through it all, Runway has helped her feel seen as someone who is still living her life while living with cancer.
“Runway just makes you feel seen,” she says.
Read MoreMena Granatino’s Story
Mena Granatino calls her Runway fundraising page Twin Blessings.
The name holds more than one meaning. When Mena found her breast cancer, she was with her twin grandchildren, who were newborns at the time. In the middle of fear and uncertainty, they were a beautiful reminder of love, family, and everything she wanted to keep moving forward for.
“It makes you feel not as alone,” Mena says.
Read MoreEmily Knight’s Story
Emily Knight was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2022, just before her 40th birthday.
Now living with metastatic breast cancer, Emily continues treatment indefinitely and is currently doing well, with clear scans since radiation and treatment to the affected area.
Through it all, Emily has found that community matters most.
“The community is the most important thing,” Emily says.
Read MoreKaren Walsh’s Story
“The reason I sought you guys out was for community,” Karen says. “Community for my boys, for families.”
Now returning for Runway’s 20th anniversary, Karen is grateful to be part of a space where stories are allowed to change, where hard things can be named, and where no one has to feel alone in what they are carrying.
Read MoreLeah Chareonchump’s Story
Leah Chareonchump was diagnosed with breast cancer just two weeks after her 31st birthday.
She found the lump herself, but because she was young, her concerns were dismissed more than once. Still, she knew something was wrong.
“I was right,” she says, “which I didn’t want to be right.”
Years later, when worsening hip pain was also dismissed, Leah had to advocate for herself again. That persistence led to the discovery that her cancer had returned as innumerable bone metastases.
Leah’s story is a powerful reminder that young people know their bodies, too. Age should never be a reason for someone’s pain, fear, or intuition to be brushed aside.
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