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Miles To Run Before She Slows

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By ALICIA ROBERTS Special to the Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 2, 2008

"You have cancer."

Those three words will test the spirit of even the strongest person. To hear them twice takes a special resilience.

When schoolteacher Terri Doyle, 29, found a lump in her breast in April 2005, she had a feeling something wasn't right. The triathlete went for a mammogram and learned she had cancer. She didn't know of any family members who had breast cancer - or of any other risk factors.

As she began treatment, Terri remained positive, despite the debilitating effects of chemotherapy and surgery. She recalls sitting in the waiting room at Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater and thinking to herself, "Even as bad as I have it, there are people who have it much worse. I can still get up to go to work, and some people can't."

Terri tried to keep her life as normal as possible. She still taught and even continued to train. Eventually, she received encouraging news: Her cancer was in remission.

With her family and friends by her side, she was excited to move on to a healthy, cancer-free chapter of her life. She continued running and teaching and even enrolled at Match.com, hoping to find a little romance.

One man caught her attention. Peter Doyle, a Pinellas County sheriff's deputy, raced in dozens of events, many in which Terri had participated. After chatting online, the two decided to meet for sushi. As Peter recalls, "We were there for three hours but only ate three rolls because we talked the entire time."

Terri and Peter began spending more and more time together, trained together and talked about plans for marriage and their future. They even went ring shopping.

Then, in April 2007, Terri learned her cancer had returned and was at Stage 4.

She says the mental discipline she acquired from racing applies to battling her illness. "It's very similar ... when we go running and I am struggling through it, Peter is right behind me ... yelling out encouragements to keep going. And it has been the same on some of those days where I am struggling with the treatments and side effects. It just goes hand in hand."

Peter believes Terri is a role model for others because of her determination and positive outlook. "She did a duathlon after her first chemo following her rediagnosis ... she doesn't let it stop her," he says.

Two weeks after her second diagnosis, Terri and Peter were scheduled to run in 2007's Miles for Moffitt 5K run at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center. Peter planned to make it a race Terri would never forget.

As Terri approached the finish line, she began to jog. "All of a sudden, he runs to get in front of me. He drops down on one knee, and I, still kind of running ... stopped short and almost ran him over. He was sitting there kneeling with the ring, and I think it took me a while to actually answer. It was perfect."

Terri said yes to Peter's marriage proposal. The couple wed on April 6.

Terri now follows a maintenance treatment schedule for her cancer. She celebrates her good days and perseveres through the tough ones. "I think about where I've been, and where I want to be, and how I am going to get there. And it's baby steps," she says. "It is like running that race, or like doing that Ironman; whether you run or walk, you have to cross that finish line."

Terri and Peter will lace up their sneakers once again to participate in this year's Miles for Moffitt 5K on May 10. Terri is proud to support the cause. "Something that once was considered terminal or a death sentence doesn't have to be ... you have to have the research."

Terri says that having survived cancer twice, every race she completes matters more now. "When I run, I wear a sign on my back that says how many surgeries I've had, how many chemos I've had, and how many radiation treatments." Depending on the race, her shirt will include the number of miles of the course and the word "priceless."

Terri's message sparks support from others; she doesn't do it for the attention. "I want to share with people what I have been through, and if that affects them and moves them, then that's wonderful; but I do it as much as a reminder for myself," she says.

Terri and Peter's partnership in life and running is in full stride. Terri says the two have no plans for easing up. "Cancer can affect you on a daily basis. It can slow you down for that day, but it can't slow you down for the long haul. We'll make it through, whatever."

To learn more about Miles for Moffitt or for an entry form, visit milesformoffitt.com.

Traffic reporter Alicia Roberts appears weekday mornings on WFLA, NewsChannel 8.

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