Daughter to Travel Cross Country To Run Miles for Moffitt in Honor of Father
Lauren C. Johnson’s upcoming trip to Florida isn’t your typical vacation. Instead, she’s on a heartfelt mission to honor her late father, Stuart, who passed away after battling esophageal cancer. Traveling six hours from San Francisco, Johnson is set to pay tribute to him by participating in this year’s Miles for Moffitt presented by AutoNation.
Lauren Johnson says her father, Stuart, rooted for the San Francisco Giants and enjoyed any time spent with family.
Johnson says she’s grateful for Moffitt Cancer Center and the high-quality treatment that allowed her father to enjoy five meaningful years.
“To have five years, I feel like we got to experience so many milestones together, and I became so close to my dad,” Johnson explained.
Miles for Moffitt, the cancer center’s premier fundraising event, brings together thousands of cancer survivors and thrivers, family members, Moffitt team members and people who simply want to do their part to support cancer research.
Over its 19-year history, the annual event has raised more than $12.8 million for cancer research at Moffitt.
Johnson, a writer and content strategist, looks at all the community support and sees the outlines of a larger story.
“Finding ways to beat cancer is a collective human effort to eradicate this horrible problem,” she said. “Our fight against cancer is a human story, we’re all part of it and we’re all contributing to it.”
For Johnson, the story begins with her dad, a former cab driver and punk rocker who once lived in San Francisco but moved to Florida with his wife, Sarah, when Lauren was 5. In the Tampa area, he worked as a business analyst for JPMorgan Chase, loved music, rooted for the San Francisco Giants and enjoyed any time spent with family and co-workers. He was known for an irreverent sense of humor that might have fit well into the movie “The Big Lebowski.”
In 2019, doctors noticed a thickening of his esophagus and diagnosed him with stage 3 esophageal cancer. It was shocking because he had not previously experienced symptoms. Surgeons removed part of his esophagus and treated him with radiation and chemotherapy and later, immunotherapy. His cancer went into remission but then recurred. He also developed leptomeningeal disease.
During much of the time her father was receiving treatment, Johnson was living in San Francisco but staying in close touch with her parents. Like most parents, they wanted to know their daughter was becoming independent and successful, something Johnson says her father got to see in many ways.
“So much happened in five years. He got to see that I went back to San Francisco, got established and am doing well out here,” she said.
Her parents were not present when she married her husband, Matt Carney, in a small ceremony at San Francisco City Hall. Still, this nontraditional wedding was especially poignant for her parents because they also got married in the same location in a very similar ceremony in 1984.
“They were thrilled,” Johnson added.
She frequently returned to the Tampa Bay area, sometimes coming to Moffitt. She was impressed with the personal care her father received from his clinical team, such as when technicians played Tom Petty and some of her father’s other favorite music when he came for radiation treatment.
During one of these visits, Johnson got some important personal news: A publisher accepted her forthcoming novel, “The West Façade.” She could have signed the contract on her cell phone but instead asked Moffitt team members to print it out.
“I wanted him to be able to see me sign my book contract,” she said.
Johnson believes the treatment her father received at Moffitt gave him more years to experience memories like these. She believes strongly that people facing cancer everywhere should have the same opportunities with their own families.
That’s why she’ll fly to Tampa and lace up her shoes to run the 10K on the morning of Nov. 23.
“Treatments are advancing every single day,” Johnson said. “There is always reason to be hopeful.”
To learn more about Miles for Moffitt or to register for the event, visit MilesforMoffitt.com.
Ready, set, register! 🏃
— Moffitt Cancer Center (@MoffittNews) April 16, 2024
Registration is now open for 2024 Miles for Moffitt presented by @AutoNation! Join us in our goal to raise $1.7 million for innovative cancer research.
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