In May of 2010, the course of my life was forever changed when my mother, Vivian Teich, was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer. I made the quick decision to quit my full-time job in film and television and focus on being her caretaker and embarked on a five-year journey that ended with her leaving us far too soon and with me having a new life mission. 

While the initial prognosis was not a promising one, our family was "lucky" to have a higher level of knowledge and resources than the average family heading into such a daunting battle. With my father, who is a well-respected doctor in the allergy and immunology field, my brother, Aaron Teich, who is a Chinese medical doctor and spiritual
healer, his wife, Kelly Turner, who wrote a New York Times Best selling book called Radical Remission, three other siblings who are brilliant and resourceful, and a support network one could only dream of - we were about as "prepared" as a family could be to equip my mother with the tools she needed to forge through the long and arduous road ahead. What we were most lucky to be armed with, was the knowledge that
fighting cancer takes much more than just chemotherapy - it takes a true lifestyle change to get your body in 'fighting shape', and this includes diet, exercise, mental health and strength, and many other factors that go well beyond standard oncology. 

While my mother adopted a new diet and embraced many lifestyle changes throughout her battle with cancer (all of which helped her gain strength and energy, keep weight on, and, I believe, kept her alive longer than she might have otherwise), exercise was not something she ever embraced - despite our pushing. With countless surgeries and aggressive chemotherapy treatments, she spent much of her time sick and exhausted and just trying to get through her days the best she could. The thought of electing to go for a walk or workout with a trainer was unfathomable to her in that constant state of discomfort and exhaustion. However, no matter how sick she felt or how exhausted she might have been, she still never skipped a chemotherapy treatment, because it was prescribed to her by her oncologist as something she MUST do - not as an elective. So I can't help but think if AKTIV Against Cancer had existed and if exercise was actually a part of her prescription from her doctor, she would have been as disciplined about it as she was about the rest of her "prescribed" treatment.
And who knows, perhaps this would have been the key ingredient to me telling you a very different story today. 

Unfortunately, my mother lost her battle to cancer on February 15th, Valentine's Day, of 2015. She was the most vivacious, magnetic, sparkly, beautiful, loving, and hilarious person I have ever known. She was the center of my universe and the glue that held our large family together. She was, in so many ways, larger than life. So for someone like my mother to lose her life to cancer, was just unfathomable to me. It still is. 

My mother didn't have many dying wishes, but there was one she made clear. She wanted a dedicated bench in Central Park. The September after she passed, just in time for her birthday, we unveiled her bench, right across the street from our family home and where I grew up - which happens to be on the Central Park running loop and just yards before the finish line of the NYC Marathon.

So for me, crossing that finish line will mean so much more than just completing 26.2 miles. I will cross that finish line with my mothers spirit beneath my feet. I will be running this marathon in honor of her, my dear friend Alex Niles, and every cancer warrior out there I know and don't know. And even as my body tires through this challenge of a lifetime, I will know that this race doesn't even touch the marathon that is the battle against cancer, and I will dedicate every mile of this journey to the hope that one day, we will finally outrun this disease. 

Since starting The Sweat Life in 2013, I have dedicated my life and work to empowering and inspiring people to live healthier, happier and more active lives. It has been the most meaningful work of my life, and the best way I could honor my mother and continue to "Shine On" as she always told me to do.

Thank you, in advance, for your generous support of me, my mother, and this incredible organization.