About Runi

Runi was diagnosed at 28 in November of 2005 with invasive ductal carcinoma. She discovered her lump and was told that she was too young to have breast cancer. Runi continued to pursue things further, even after three negative tests. She had the lump removed and that was when they discovered that it was cancerous, stage 1. She elected to have a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction, two months of Adriamycin/Cytoxan and three months of Taxol. She had a year of Herceptin and a total of five years of Tamoxifen. She tested positive for a genetic breast cancer variant. She was a sixth-grade teacher at the time of diagnosis. Her passion shifted from helping children to helping survivors. She believes that women, especially young women, must be advocates for their own health. Runi has a nine year-old chocolate lab that she calls “The Gentle Giant” She has two darling nephews that live in Albuquerque, NM, where she grew up.