Gabriele Grunewald ran in the U.S. Track and Field Championship on Thursday. But on Tuesday, she will continue chemotherapy treatments for an aggressive and rare form of cancer.
Gabriele Grunewald ran in the U.S. Track and Field Championship in the middle of chemotherapy treatments
She’s fighting cancer for a fourth time.
Eight years ago, when Grunewald was a senior at the University of Minnesota, she visited a doctor, concerned about a bump she had felt on her neck. The day before her season debut, she was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma — a rare cancer of the salivary gland. She fought the cancer with radiation and surgery and eventually beat it. The next day, she ran in the 1500m race and beat her personal best time.
“I’m a young adult with cancer,” Grunewald told The New York Times. “I don’t always love talking about it. It’s not a made-for-TV movie. It’s real. It’s scary.”
In 2010, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and had to undergo more surgery and radiation. Eventually, she would beat that cancer too — while beating her personal best just months after. In 2014, she won her first national championship at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
She’s currently battling cancer for a fourth time, but she hasn’t let that stop her from competing at the highest level. She now runs with a large scar on her stomach where part of her liver was removed. On Thursday, she ran the 1500m while currently undergoing chemotherapy. She didn’t advance to the finals but received a standing ovation from the crowd and a huddle of encouragement from her fellow runners.
She heads back to Minneapolis soon for more chemo, but she hopes to be back on the track —and healthy — soon.
“It gives me hope,” she said to The Times. “Hey, maybe we can get this under control. And I can turn one year into another and I can have a long life.”
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