Families struggling with breast cancer get much-needed relief from Runway for Recovery
MATTAPAN - Shadon Watkins of Boston remembers life before breast cancer.
"It was amazing," the 32-year-old Mattapan resident told WBZ-TV. "I had my children. I was able to do things with them that didn't affect my everyday life, like riding bikes and swimming and all the outdoor activities."
Watkins lives with her four children - ages 7, 9, 11, and 12 - and her husband, who has taken on a lot of responsibility since she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
"It was like a normal day," Watkins said about the moment her life changed. "I woke up, I had some pain in my chest. When I sat up off the bed, I had, like, a lump sitting off my chest."
She went to the doctor and everything happened quickly from there - X-ray scans, MRIs, and before Watkins knew it, she was diagnosed with breast cancer on March 4, 2021.
On January 4, 2023, Watkins learned the cancer had metastasized. She is now living with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer, for which there is no cure, only treatment to manage the cancer as long as her body will allow.
"It makes me sad," she said. "Some days are easier than others. But I just try to do a lot of things with the children and, you know, just keep my mind occupied. I try to keep them out of it. I don't want them to worry."
Watkins receives intensive chemotherapy once a month at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
"It's rough," she said. "The day after and that day [of chemo], I cannot function. I'm asleep at least 24 hours. It's really a rough patch. I leave everything to my husband on those days because I just don't have the energy. I have no energy at all."
In addition to her family and loving extended support system, there is one organization that has taken the weight off of Watkins's shoulders on her most difficult days - Runway for Recovery.
What is Runway for Recovery?
The local organization was founded by Olivia Boger, originally from Concord, as a tribute to her mother, Candy Achtmeyer. Achtmeyer died in 2001 after a 10-year battle with breast cancer that she fought completely in private.
"There wasn't an ounce of us that was mad [she didn't tell us] because it was just such an overwhelming maternal sacrifice that we acknowledge had occurred," Boger told WBZ. "There was such a grace about my mom, and you know, a desire to always deflect and have the attention not on her."
Boger first held a "Runway" fashion show in 2007 in Concord, with 75 guests. She raised about $13,000 for families fighting breast cancer that year, but she knew, based on the energy in the room, that this would be a lifelong mission.
Now, 17 years later, with an office in Newburyport, Runway for Recovery is an annual event, with a Boston fashion show that this year will have 100 models walking the stage, 900 guests in the audience, and will raise more than $500,000 in one night. The organization has also launched fashion shows in New York and southern California.
When asked what her mother Candy would think of the growth, Olivia said, "She really believed in a magic in childhood. I think she just saw the purity of it, and I think anything that we're doing to give other kids that magic would be meaningful."
That's where the money goes - not directly to cancer or research but to the magic of childhood.
Families who have lost a parent to breast cancer or who have a parent actively fighting Stage IV breast cancer can apply for a grant from Runway for Recovery to be used for groceries, tutoring, extracurricular activities, summer camp, therapy, and more.
"The things that allow children to be children, that allow the parents to not have to worry about finances," Boger said.
Then, the mothers and fathers who are survivors, or relatives of someone with breast cancer, walk the runway dressed by local stores. This year, the fashion show takes place on October 25. If you're interested in attending or donating, click here.
"I'm really excited"
Shadon Watkins plans to walk the runway with her daughter.
"I'm excited. I can't wait," she told WBZ. "It's going to be my first time on the runway. I'm really excited...I feel like it's just going to be empowering. Instead of it being so, you know, somber because it's cancer and stuff... It's uplifting for us. It's the day that we feel good and we don't have to think about what's going on. And it's about us."
Watkins's family receives grant money in the form of $700 Stop and Shop gift cards each month, gift cards to buy clothes for the kids, and extra money to help with the bills. It's given Shadon peace of mind as she's unable to work.
"With the cancer progressing into Stage IV, I was in the hospital for about three weeks to a month, so during that time, my husband was at the hospital with me, so he had to take some time off of work," she explained. "And just being able to know that the bills were being paid and that food was still going to be on the table was a huge stressor and a relief. We didn't have to think twice. We knew that Runway for Recovery was going to do that for us."
