LaDawn Jefferson: Confident and Cancer-Free
LaDawn Jefferson (#2028, at top center) with her teammates at the 2024 NYRR Team Championships.
LaDawn Jefferson, 52, of Ocean Hill, Brooklyn, was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in September 2021. She had two lumpectomies in her troubled breast and was set to have 12 rounds of chemotherapy and 20 sessions of radiation. However, only 9 rounds of chemo were completed because the treatment caused neuropathy (nerve damage) in her extremities.
In March 2022, the disease had spread to the meninges surrounding the brain and spinal cord. LaDawn never finished the treatment for her breast as her spine became the priority.
After LaDawn ran the RBC Brooklyn Half in May 2023—her first race since her breast cancer diagnosis—she was so elated that the next day she brought her finisher medal to her office at the NYPD, where she works as an administrative aide. It was a validation that cancer didn't take everything from her and that she was still very much herself.
A member of Lean. Strong. Fast. run club and NYRR’s Race Free program, she’s run at least eight more NYRR races since then at distances from 5K to the half marathon.
Through the Red Door Community, LaDawn’s two teenage sons have received counseling and participated in weekly online meetings for kids dealing with a parent's cancer diagnosis and treatment; her two older sons also have helped care for the younger boys.
LaDawn's cancer status has been NED—No Evidence of Disease—for the past 18 months, and her only obstacle to running is the neuropathy she has in her toes and fingers. “I can work with that,” she said. With her neurologist’s okay, she’ll run the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon, and will fundraise on behalf of Red Door Community.
“I am confident that I can do anything that I put my mind to and can still participate in the sport that has allowed me to achieve my goals for nearly a decade,” she said.
She adds, "I will complete the marathon slowly, but it will get done.”
LaDawn is part of #TeamInspire, a diverse group of 26 entrants whose stories capture the power of running to change lives.
