My name is Hillary Drexler, and I am 37 years old. I spent my whole life afraid of running. I've run half marathons in my 20's, but after mile 10, my body was always begging me to stop. Marathon running always seemed like such a far fetched idea - until the impossible started seeming more possible.

In December of 2023 at the age of 38-years-old, my big sister Stephanie was diagnosed incidentally with ER+/PR+ breast cancer during a routine screening (she wasn't even 40 years old yet and technically was not indicated for a mammogram!). Within weeks, she underwent a double mastectomy. This was a terrifying time for my entire family. Nevertheless, because of the education surrounding early detection and the research being done on her specific tumor genotype, her cancer was detected as Stage I. She is now cured. My family and I are so incredibly grateful for charities like the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and I want to give back in honor of my amazing sister.

Unfortunately, I thought that was going to be my only interaction with breast cancer for a while. Years ago, my beautiful grandmother Beatrice and warmhearted Aunt Fran were also diagnosed and also underwent mastectomies. I figured it was luck of the draw as we age. So you can imagine my shock when just this month I learned my amazing brainiac and health conscious first cousin Sarah is now dealing with the same diagnosis. Breast cancer shouldn't happen in young and healthy individuals like my sister and cousin - but here I am, writing this bio. I am so grateful that, like my sister, my cousin had already been receiving amazing care. She had been screened and followed by her doctors regularly, and we are all very hopeful that they were able to catch the disease before any invasive spread.

So what do all of these amazing women have in common? They had knowledge about screening and early detection, and they had access to excellent medical care. Most importantly, they didn't let breast cancer stop or define them. They forged on their path no matter how scary or hard.

As for me - still terrified of running, I come to this endeavor with a new sense of confidence. I have something to run for. First, l want to push myself to pursue my dream of running the NY marathon as a New Yorker. I have spent the last two years volunteering for it in the medical tent (placing IV's and rehydrating runners as they came across mile 18!), but I've always been too intimidated to complete a full marathon myself. Admittedly, I had even signed up a few times in prior years and never completed the training. However, after seeing what my sister, cousin, aunt, and grandmother have gone through, I know I can push myself and show my family, my sister, and, most importantly, her daughter (my niece, Emily) that we can do hard things together and come out the other side stronger. 

If my story isn't reason enough, 1 in 8 women in the U.S. will be impacted by breast cancer in their lifetime, including my own family. I want to help support Komen's vision of a world without breast cancer. And as the world's largest and most impactful breast cancer organization, Susan G. Komen supports more breast cancer research than any other nonprofit outside of the U.S. government. I want us all to help Susan G. Komen save lives and end breast cancer forever. 

My family was lucky to be saved by the research, education, and advances in early detection and modern medicine put forth by this amazing organization. I, myself, now undergo screenings every 6 months per the high risk guidelines. Yet, my hope is that ALL women and families will be able to be screened, treated, and helped in the same ways that my family has been positively affected. So help me and my "why," and let's help women around the globe together. And, of course, get your screening mammograms!