Gwyn E Miller
Diagnosed in January 2013, Gwyn Miller, a 40-year-old marathon runner, teacher, wife, and mother of three, grapples to understand how a healthy and active woman with no ancestral history of breast or ovarian cancer or BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 gene mutation develops this disease. Shaken, her husband and she vow to remain silent until they learn more about her prognosis. After discussing her stage and surgical options with her surgical oncologist, Dr. Brenda Sickle-Santanello, Gwyn discloses her diagnosis to others slowly and deliberately. Coinciding with the 40 days of Lent, her cancer journey leads her to make connections between Jesus’ struggles and her own. Flashing back to earlier life experiences, she knows God has prepared her for this moment. While her faith and resilience guide her to combat confusion, aggravation, and sorrow, she encounters the negative sentiments and perceptions cancer patients face while seeking to maintain a positive mindset. Battling the stigma and challenges of breast cancer, she remains determined to train for and run the fall marathon that others are trying to convince her is impossible.
