Andrea Paine

Andrea Paine lives in the Montreal area and works as a senior executive in Ottawa. She is the mother of three girls.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007, she had a double mastectomy and reconstruction followed by eight rounds of chemotherapy.

An avid runner, doctors credited her good physical fitness for making it through the rigours of a 10 ½ hour operation, followed by the trials and tribulations of chemotherapy.

She started running the year before her diagnosis, and ran her first half marathon in Montreal six months later. She laced up her running shoes six weeks after surgery, and slowly started her running routine again.

One of the opportunities she was given through her diagnosis with cancer was to provide a positive example to her daughters. She continued working and ran as often as she could through chemotherapy. She changed as little in her regular routine as possible.

Andrea has always expressed herself through the written word, and hopes to continue to inspire; whether it’s to encourage others to lace up those running shoes or to face any other adversity, such as disease, through positive thinking.

She has also recently contributed towards a book featuring the inspirational stories of cancer survivors that will be published over the next few months in the U.K.

Running has continued to inspire Andrea, and has also become a means of contributing towards causes that raise money for cancer research, as well as funds to help patients pay for costly medication and to supplement their income. She is also available to give inspirational talks to cancer patients and survivors.