The Coast to Coast Run Team was lucky enough to meet Dave and Karen Massey while camping in the small town of Ely, NV. Thanks to what some may call fate, Dave and Karen happened to walk through the team’s campsite and overhear a conversation about the run. For the rest of the evening they joined they team for a campfire discussion about survivorship, life, and living each day with purpose.

Dave, a two time 20 year survivor of germ cell cancer, has completed 19 courses of chemotherapy, 14 radiation treatments, and had both his left lung and the sac around his heart removed. A positive, if not stubborn, attitude helped Dave through his two separate nine month stays at MD Anderson. For as long as he could, he walked 2 miles a day, which at times could take all day, and when that became difficult he rode a bicycle.  When his doctor told him he couldn't do that anymore because of the dangers that came along the heavy doses of chemo, such as permanent peripheral nerve damage and balance problems, Dave would walk in the pool.  He believed 100% that he would live and he refused to stop moving.

Karen, a 22 year survivor of childhood Leukemia, doesn't remember much while undergoing chemotherapy. Being only 6 years old at the time, most of her memories involve puppets, animals and other activities going on at the Children's Hospital in Denver. At such a young age, Karen didn't even fully realize she was sick.  When Karen was 18, she was in a bad car accident that took the vision in her right eye and required 14 reconstructive surgeries.  This event caused Karen to look at her life and realize she had been through more by the time that she was 18 than most experience in their whole life.  Seeing this as a gift and not a roadblock, Karen is now an Occupational Therapist and helps those recovering from some manner of life changing event become independent again. 

Dave and Karen met almost three years ago at a boat parade in Mandeville, LA. They instantly felt a connection and a few conversations later knew they had found someone who shared their outlook on life. Dave and Karen were married on a beach in Hawaii on November 1, 2005 and each day is happier and healthier than ever before.  They hope to one day tour the country and give this gift of not just surviving but thriving after a cancer diagnosis.