Supporting a friend through a cancer journey can be both heartbreaking and inspiring.  For Great Bend High School English teacher Jessica Ferguson, the struggle of her long time high school friend, Kimberly Jessop, through treatment and subsequent remission of Stage IV melanoma and leukemia helped her to step way out of her comfort zone.  Next Sunday, Oct. 13, she will travel to Chicago and run her first full marathon in honor of her friend.
“I had fears of not being able to finish, a painful last few miles, being undertrained, being overtrained, but suddenly my fears seemed small compared to the enormous fears that Kimberly faced every day,” she said.
Ferguson has been running for the past three-and-a-half years.  She wasn’t sure she was cut out for it until she entered a 5K and walked it with an older woman with a hurt foot, she said.  That experience helped her to put all her previous excuses behind her, and she’s been running ever since.
“It has become part of who I am and is very empowering,” she said.  “I feel healthier and younger than I did ten years ago.”
She began working towards longer distance goals with her running coach.  Soon, she was running half marathons--four within a year.  But still, she couldn’t visualize running a full marathon.

A different kind of marathon
Meanwhile, Jessop had received her diagnosis.  It was December, 2010, shortly after her 33rd birthday.  Stage IV melanoma led to a series of tests that led to her first treatment in January, 2011.  Despite taking a maximum doses of a grueling regimen of chemotherapy, subsequent tests showed new tumors had formed.
She began a course of treatment with a new, experimental drug.  She found herself driving 400 miles every two weeks to receive infusions.
“I settled into a routine of work, kids, school, arranging sitters, arranging meals, laying out clothes, making lists for my husband to follow, making lunches, kissing my sleeping children goodbye, leaving before daylight and returning after dark, all for a drug that gave me hope,” Jessop said.
After eight weeks, positive results made it all seem worthwhile.  Eight months later, more an more shrinkage was cause for joy.  However, back pain ensued, and at first, Jessop thought it was simply a side affect.  It turned out to be another melanoma tumor, however, compressing her spine.  The outlook was dismal, but still, she did not allow herself to give up.
After she recovered from surgery, she was able to resume the drug trial.  Six weeks later, her white blood cell count was too high to continue, and a new diagnosis was added--chronic myelogenous leukemia.
Leukemia took center stage and my melanoma treatment was put on hold once again. She was started on another drug that brought its own set of side effects.
“I decided to go back to work and continue to focus on the day to day and continue to remain positive,” she said.  “Truthfully, I felt like if I had survived the last few months, I wasn’t going to let a little leukemia diagnosis stand in my way.”
That was a year ago.  For the past six months, Jessop has been in remission.  Her only explanation is God.  She continues to set goals for herself and focus on what is positive in her life--her husband and her kids especially.

How to help
Ferguson will be participating in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon Charity Program, fundraising for the American Cancer Society.  She is looking forward to an exciting and memorable first run.
“Kim has been my inspiration throughout my training.  I am dedicating this one to her,” she said.
Anyone who would like to make a donation is encouraged to mail it to the following address.  Be sure to include Ferguson’s participant ID and donor contact information :
Attention: Chicago Marathon, 225 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60601.  Participant ID:32167446, Bank of America Chicago Marathon - Chicago, Mrs. Jessica Ferguson.