At 13 years old you have your whole life ahead of you. A doctor’s devastating diagnosis could put a damper on your plans. Not for Dominie Burwell.

On January 18, 2007 Dominie was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. She went through radiation, chemo and a stem cell transplant. This past May marked two years since she’s been in remission.

As if fighting cancer was not enough of a challenge, three years ago Dominie and her mom, Desiree, made a promise to each other. They promised to participate in the Nike Women’s Marathon when Dominie turned 16 and she was eligible to participate in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training (TNT) charity sports training program.

That day is finally here. This October Desiree, 50, and Dominie will travel to San Francisco and accomplish something amazing together.

Including the Burwells, 135 Valley women are currently preparing for the race to benefit LLS as members of TNT. The team has been training hard through the summer for the October 17 event. The Nike Women's Marathon is the premiere women's marathon in the country and TNT is poised to surpass the $100 million mark in the seventh year of this event.

“Recently I raised $160 for The American Cancer Society and had a toy drive for Andrea's Closet and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society so I can help others like people helped me, while I was in the hospital and visiting the clinic,” said Dominie, who will be raising more money before the big day.

“The training has been better then we expected,” said Desiree. “We have been training since May and have only missed 4 days total. The toughest part of training has been the early Saturday mornings. We both are not morning people and having to be at practice at 5 a.m. is difficult. Finding a cure for blood cancers has been the motivational part of our training. There are many friends and family that are fighting or have fought this battle, some win but some have lost. We don't want even one person to lose.”

Desiree also added that Dominie is her hero and also her motivation.

When not training or raising funds for the LLS, Dominie , an 11th grader, enjoys cross country running, shopping, watching movies, reading and playing guitar. Her favorite classes are English and TV Broadcasting.

Dominie advice for others: “Live one day at a time. Never give up because you are stronger than you think you are.”

To learn more about Dominie and her cause, Team in Training, call 602-567-7642 or visit www.teamintraining.org/dm.

— Sue Berliner