When Signe Jarvis of Lake Orion was diagnosed with cancer in her face three years ago, she knew she had a long road ahead of her.
Jarvis, who recovered from her battle with Osteosarcoma after undergoing surgery in 2002, recently faced, and conquered, another long road: The Chicago Marathon.
‘A friend of ours, Don Danko of Lake Orion, said he’d done (a marathon) before, and he put the challenge out,? said Jarvis, 66. ‘We ran with four guys and four women.?
Jarvis story begins in March 2002, when she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a slow-growing bone cancer usually found in the long bones of children.
Jarvis? cancer was found in the roof of her mouth back to her eye, and she underwent a 12-hour surgery that June to have it removed.
‘They were able to get all of the cancer,? she said. ‘I had to have radiation after for six weeks.?
During the procedure, doctors removed the bridge of Jarvis? nose, her cheek bone, three-fourths of the roof of her mouth and her right eye, as well as replacing the outer lining of her brain.
‘The only cure (for osteosarcoma) is surgery,? said Jarvis? husband, John. ‘They do radiation after to be sure.
‘The cancer she had is rare, especially where it was and being found in an older person,? John said.
According to cancerindex.org, osteosarcoma is the most frequent type of bone tumor, and is common between the ages of 10-25. In most cases it’s found in the bones around the knee.
Common early signs are pain and swelling, and the cancer can spread to other areas of the body.
Jarvis has been cancer-free for three years now, with her latest CAT scan in July coming up clear. She said her joy at being cancer-free is part of the reason she wanted to run in the marathon.
‘The first few months (after being diagnosed) you were just hoping you’d still be here,? she said. ?(Running the marathon) is just one thing to prove I am back and strong.
‘It was challenging, but such a thrill,? Jarvis said of the race, held Oct. 9.
‘We trained for 16 weeks, and we used our wonderful Paint Creek Trail, which is exactly 20 miles,? she said.
The Jarvis? ran the race together, along with six others from their group. The couple attends Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church in Lake Orion, and have lived in the community for 37 years.
‘Seven of the eight people in our group finished,? said Jarvis. ‘It was emotional.?
‘The big goal was just to finish,? said John. ‘The dream goal was to do it in 15-minute miles, and we were able to do that.?
The Jarvis? finished the marathon together in six hours and 33 minutes. They were surprised to learn their children and other family members were able to track their progress in real-time on the marathon’s website.
The Jarvis? have six children, three of whom live out of state, and 13 grandchildren.
‘They kept track of us, and called right after the race was over,? said Jarvis. ‘My nephew in Hawaii called and said he’d been tracking the race (online).?
Each runner had a chip on their shoe that kept track of their time every five, 10 and 15 K when the runners went over a mat that read the chip.
‘Then it was all instantly available on their website,? John said.
All of the runners received medals as they crossed the finish line, which was a proud moment for Jarvis.
‘Everyone is supportive,? she said of the other runners and spectators who cheered from the sidelines. ‘People were wearing different shirts, telling what they were running for.?
The Jarvis? are regular walkers, and both wondered before the race if they could really be that strong or have enough endurance to finish a marathon.
‘When we were in Chicago, we met a 68-year-old man who was running in the marathon that had recently been diagnosed with acute leukemia,? said John. ‘He was out doing the marathon a year after being diagnosed.?
Jarvis said she wouldn’t be ‘opposed? to running a marathon again.
‘It was a wonderful discipline to train,? she said.
‘You’d never train that hard unless you had motivation at the end,? said John.