Cancer survivor to run half marathon to raise money for cancer nonprofit
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Tara Smith gets in a training run for the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Half Marathon on the Montour Trail in Cecil Township.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Tara Smith is running the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Half Marathon to raise funds for Young Adult Survivors United, a nonprofit for cancer survivors ages 18-39.
Less that two years after being diagnosed with cancer, a 33-year-old Washington woman is taking on the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Half Marathon to raise money for a young adult cancer survivor support group.
Tara Smith was diagnosed with stage 1B melanoma in May 2020, after a mole she had had removed returned and grew larger and darker.
Melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, is a cancer that usually starts in the skin.
Smith underwent surgery at Allegheny Health Network Jefferson Hospital, where the cancer was removed.
“I was grateful we caught it in time,” said Smith, who works for a nonprofit agency in Washington County.
On May 1, Smith will be running the 13.1-mile race to raise money for Young Adult Survivors United, the largest community for cancer survivors aged 18 to 40 in Western Pennsylvania.
She discovered the nonprofit organization in December while searching for a charity program to run for as part of the marathon’s Run for a Reason Charity Program.
Since then, she has become a member and is on YASU’s wellness support group committee.
Additionally, Smith has helped organize a Dine and Donate fundraiser at Parlay Lounge on Racetrack Road in Washington on April 25 from 5 to 8 p.m., with Parlay donating 20% of sales to the nonprofit when the YASU fundraiser flyer is presented.
For Smith, running a half marathon had long been on her bucket list. But she had been struggling with her weight in her 20s and early 30s, and in early 2021, she reached a lifetime high weight of 236 pounds.
Smith met with a nutritionist at Washington Health System Washington Hospital and joined Weight Watchers, and through a healthy diet and exercise, including running, she lost 110 pounds by December.
She began training for the half marathon in January.
Smith wants to raise awareness about YASU and the emotional, social and financial support it provides for young adults – she noted YASU helped her cover the cost of rent during the pandemic after she lost her job – and to encourage people to advocate for themselves about their health.
She said she became worried as the mole grew larger and darker, so she sought a second opinion about it and believes it made a difference in her outcome.
“I’m excited and nervous about the race, but I’m glad I’m doing this. I want to help people who are dealing with their own cancer diagnoses, and I want to bring awareness to YASU,” said Smith. “I’m not naturally a runner, so I’ve had to really work at this to get where I am and I still have a little way to go, but I’m still out there trying for those who can’t, and that’s what makes it worth it.”