Maine news, sports, weather | Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine

Running together

By Mechele Cooper mcooper@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

HALLOWELL -- Jane Manson said she might not be able to run the entire distance, but she still is determined to finish Portland's first-ever Race for the Cure on Sunday.

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Jane Manson, right, runs down the Kennebec River Rail Trail in Hallowell recently with her granddaughter, Danelle Finnen, center, and daughter Amy Finnen while training for the Race for the Cure fundraiser to be held in Portland on Sunday. Manson and the elder Finnen, who have both been diagnosed with cancer, will run with her mother and sister Lacey Vassar to raise awareness and money to help cure the disease.

Staff photo by Andy Molloy

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Manson, 57, of Hallowell said her daughter, Amy Finnen, of Topsham was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago.

At the time, Finnen, a 39-year-old elementary school teacher, lived in Corvallis, Ore.

Manson said she trained for the cancer fundraiser with her daughter and 18-year-old granddaughter, Danelle Finnen, who unfortunately has to leave for college the day before the race and won't be able to participate. Manson's other daughter, Lacey Vassar, 27, also of Topsham, will join them instead.

"I don't know if I'll be able to run all the way, but I'm going to give it my best," Manson said Tuesday. "I'll walk if I have to."

Cancer hasn't only struck her daughter. Manson herself is being treated for polycythemia rubra vera, a rare blood cancer.

Finnen taught first grade while she went through her cancer treatment, which included a lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. Toward the end of the treatment, Manson traveled to Oregon to help out for six weeks.

"She was just such a trooper," Manson said. "She went to school almost every day. I did everything so she didn't have to, so she could come home and go to bed. She was just amazing. And such a wonderful teacher. She got the teacher-of-the-year award at the school. The next year, she got teacher of the year for the whole county. It was a Chamber of Commerce award."

As if cancer wasn't enough to deal with, Finnen also had to live through the loss of her husband, who died of a heart attack at age 40 last year.

"So I went out there again last summer and stayed close to two months to help," Manson said. "She was still sick from the cancer, then her husband dies."

Amy Finnen said it has been a rough couple of years, but she's now home with family and has a lot of positive things happening in her life.

Finnen said she wanted to run in the race to bring awareness to breast cancer, and to help raise money for research.

"I want to show that survivors are strong people and you get through it," Finnen said. "I also would like for those newly diagnosed to see people on the other side of it. That they're going to come out and be OK. It's good to have hope and to know that lots of people do recover."

Finnen said she and her mother and daughter, Danelle Finnen, started training in June, walking and running an hour every day.

"I enjoyed training with my mom and daughter," she said. "It was fun."

Manson, who also has had a hip replacement, said she is looking forward to the race and being with her daughters.

"I'm so proud of them," Manson said.

Komen Maine Affiliate's Executive Director, Sally Bilancia, said her group received numerous requests over the years from those wanting to start or participate in a Portland Race for the Cure event. The Bangor race, now in its 13th year, is one of the largest 5K run/walks in the state, drawing more than 5,200 participants and raising more than $325,000 for the Komen Maine Affiliate in 2009, Bilancia said.

Mechele Cooper -- 623-3811, ext. 408

mcooper@centralmaine.com

Information on Portland's first Race for the Cure fundraiser, www.komenmaine.org/about-us/news/cras-facilisis-scelerisque.html