Since her diagnosis with acute myeloid leukemia, Dr. Amy Miller says one of the few things that make her feel normal and like her life isn’t on pause is when she is running.
That’s why the family physician and mother of five plans to run the full 13.1 miles and cross the finish line at the St. Luke’s Half Marathon in Allentown on Sunday.
Just one month ago Miller, 47, was diagnosed with this aggressive form of blood and bone marrow cancer, after she started noticing spontaneous bruising. which she originally thought may have been minor injuries from deadlifting.
“But I did then notice a golf ball size bruise on my right calf, which I was pretty sure had nothing to do with running or weight training. So we got some blood work and the numbers came back and my husband, who is a physician, was like, ‘You have to go to the ER’,” Miller said.
Miller, of Lower Macungie Township, was hospitalized from March 15 to April 7 at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest. During that time she had a bone marrow biopsy, received five to seven days of chemotherapy and was given platelets and hemoglobin transfusions. But throughout that time, the exercise fanatic kept active.
“I was like, ‘Well, I can’t go from running 25 to 30 miles a week to doing nothing. I’m gonna go crazy on the floor.’ So they actually had an exercise bike for me in my room and I was biking about five to 10 miles a day. I only missed biking two days out of my hospitalizations and those were the days when I had a fever because I had a blood infection,” Miller said.
But Miller didn’t think she would be able to do the half marathon, which she had planned on running prior to her diagnosis and hospitalization. She even asked her oncologist to take her running bib with him when he himself ran the race.
Once she’d been out of the hospital for a few days, however, she decided she would go for a run, with the goal of one to three miles.
“My first run, it was something about being in prison, being in the hospital for 23 days. And then we just had gorgeous weather April 11 — the sun was shining the birds, were singing, the sun was on my face, the wind was in my hair — that I ran five miles. It was a slow five miles. But that felt wonderful. The next day, I decided, let’s try seven miles,“ she said.
Miller said she’s been active for much of her life. She was a cheerleader in high school and also earned a black belt in tae kwon do, but she didn’t start running until she gave birth to her second child in 2006.
“I love just clearing my head and long-distance running,” Miller said. “I just enjoy being by myself because as a mom of five kids in a household of seven, I feel like that’s when I can complete a thought. I’ve just enjoyed running through all the different seasons and weathers of life.”
Miller said she tries to run two to three marathons or half marathons per year. She said her best time to finish was one hour and 53 minutes in a half marathon. Miller doesn’t expect to finish anywhere near that fast, but she knows she has it in her to finish this half marathon. On April 12 she ran 8.5 miles and on April 15 she was able to run a slow and steady 11 miles.
Miller knows she has a lot of cancer treatment ahead of her. She said she has her next round of chemo from April 26 to April 28.
“This is probably the best I’m going to feel in terms of my blood cell counts and levels,” Miller said. “Once I hit the chemo again the chemo is going to drop my counts again.”
Miller said cancer has already taken a lot from her. She worked as a family physician with Lehigh Valley Physician Group for 20 years and she’s had to stop her practice. She’s also lost her hair because of the chemoradiation, her overall health is worse, her immune system is compromised and she can’t even cart all her children around like she used to.
“All of a sudden I am the immunocompromised person, as opposed to a young, healthy, active physician and mom of five kids,” Miller said. “I felt like it has stolen a lot.”
But she said she is thankful that her cancer hasn’t stolen running from her. She said she hopes her running the half marathon can provide encouragement for others.
“This is kind of like life, right?” Miller said. “You run your race that has been set out for you at your own pace. You’ll have your pitfalls and your detours and your pitstops. You’ll have other people along the road with you, running their own races at their own paces for their own reasons. I feel like I am going to really enjoy the race and am thankful for it.”
Morning Call reporter Leif Greiss can be reached at 610-679-4028 or lgreiss@mcall.com.
