Anne Riggs makes EchoPress headlines

Anne Riggs this summer with a couple of guys: her husband Bill and friend Del Fladwood. (Photo by Lorlee Bartos, 65Roundup Staff Photographer)

Riggs wins race against cancer
Jo Colvin, Lifestyle Reporter
11/25/2005
Anne Riggs ran the Twin Cities marathon in in 1998, just three years after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She has completed four marathons since then and plans to travel to Paris within the next year to complete a race there. This week she will celebrate her 10th year of being cancer-free.
When Anne Riggs discovered she had cancer, she hit the ground running – and in 10 years, she hasn’t stopped. To her, cancer was merely a speed bump on the scenic road she calls life.
Many Alexandrians may know Riggs from her 25 years as a French teacher at Jefferson High School and Discovery Middle School. Ten years ago, at age 55, she retired from the job she loved so much and found so rewarding.
Three months later, the day before Thanksgiving, she was told she had stage three ovarian cancer, which has an average life expectancy of just three years.
“I never thought I would have cancer,” Anne said of what she called “a bit of denial” after losing two sisters, one to breast cancer and one to ovarian cancer.
By the following Monday, Anne was in the operating room having the cancer removed. During her subsequent chemotherapy treatment, one thought kept running through Anne’s head, giving her the strength and courage to make it through – completing a marathon.
“When I was on chemo, I thought, ‘what are some of the things you really want to do with your life?' ” Anne recalled. “Running a marathon was one of them. It was going to be my reward for finishing chemo.”
A self-described “non-athlete,” at age 50 Anne had taken up running, mostly as a stress reliever.
“Something about it allows you to think more clearly,” she described. “My more creative ideas come to me when I am running.”
As soon as she was done with chemo, she started running again and training for the marathon she promised herself.
“At first I could only run a block,” she recalled.
That block soon turned into miles and in 1998, Anne completed her first marathon, which is 26 miles.
“You get this great rush,” she said. “I can’t tell you how much fun it is. And to finish…!”
In the past 10 years, Anne has completed five marathons; gone parasailing, white water rafting and kayaking; gone up in a hot air balloon; and traveled to Europe and Mexico.
“Getting cancer is almost a liberating thing,” she said. “It’s made me not afraid to do anything. That has changed my life.”
Anne now runs outside at least six miles five to six days a week, all year long. And she is 66 years old.
“I’m proud of my age,” she said. “This is the best time of my life. I can hardly wait to get up in the morning. I’ve never been more healthy in my life.”
Anne credits three things in helping her win the race against cancer – the “amazing” medical treatment she has received in Alexandria, running, and the “tremendous” support she has received from family and friends.
This week Anne will cross the finish line of a major milestone. It has been 10 years since she first found out she had cancer. She defied all odds by remaining cancer-free since her chemotherapy. She plans to celebrate by training for yet another race she's always dreamed of – the Paris marathon, which she will do either this April or the following.
"If you are diagnosed with cancer, it's not necessarily the end of your life," Anne said of her determination to overcome the disease and live life to its fullest. "Cancer is just a word, it's not a sentence."
And Anne plans to end that sentence with a big exclamation point.

(Article submitted by Tom Obert, Cub Reporter. If you see items that may interest fellow classmembers, be sure to forward them to trailboss@swpub.com for posting here. Thanks, gang. -- Stan)