Brain tumor leads woman to activism, a feature published by The Argus Leader, about Julia Khvasechko, a young woman brain cancer survivor who runs marathons for cancer charity, is a heartwarming story to begin the week.

Marathon runners suffer from dehydration and the physical weakness at about mile 20 of the 26 mile run, but Khvasechko says that is nothing compared to the experience of cancer diagnosis.

"When you hit a wall - for me that is around mile 19 - it's easy to give up, but one cannot give up, one has to keep going," she said. "That is what I learned from overcoming a chronic condition. The initial reaction to the diagnosis was that my life was over. I was so very young - I lost my innocence, my youth and my carefree lifestyle. And it was not an easy road after the diagnosis, either."

After an incorrect diagnosis of epilepsy in 1994, Khvasechko was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1998, at the age of 24. After seven years, she is cancer-free. Khvasechko, and her running partner, Chris Pierson, just finished the Racing Ahead marathon to raise money for the National Brain Tumor Foundation. Both met online and plan to be married later this year. Some stories have a happy ending, and this is definitely one of them.