One Family’s Cancer Experience Inspires a Marathon Mission

On Sunday, Oct. 25, Brandon Swain will run the 51st Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, Virginia. As a member of Team CSC United, he has been raising funds so people impacted by cancer can find support and resources. This is Brandon's story.
 

The year 2025 began as one of the happiest of Brandon's life. On a clear March day in Washington, D.C., the active-duty Marine married his fiancée Jackie. Saucer magnolia trees were in bloom across the District as the couple’s loved ones watched them say their “I do’s.”

“We had a ton of intense conversations about what song we'd play after our first kiss as a married couple," says Brandon. "Despite my best efforts, Jackie won and we kissed to ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’ by Stevie Wonder. Turns out she was right about it being the perfect song.”

The couple had decided to delay their honeymoon for a few months. Brandon needed to wrap up an important project at work first. That was the plan.

A few weeks into their marriage, Jackie learned she had breast cancer.

Jackie's mother Lois had survived breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Since it ran in her family, Jackie knew she faced an increased risk for these cancers.

"Jackie had told me about it when we were dating, so I always knew it was a possibility," Brandon says. But the newlyweds couldn't have known cancer would enter their new life together, or how soon.

"I was still learning how to be a husband, and this was a huge test," says Brandon. "I didn't know how to help my wife or where to find resources that could help us while she was battling through treatment. We relied heavily on the support of my friends and family, especially Lois."

Brandon remembers that Lois cried when Jackie shared the news. Then, he says, "Lois snapped into action."

As Brandon supported Jackie throughout her treatment, he often looked to Lois for strength. "She was one of the strongest, most caring people I've ever met," he says. "She told you what you needed to know, when you needed to know it."

Jackie joined a clinical trial and completed chemotherapy in October 2025. As she prepared for her first post-chemotherapy surgery, Brandon's dad George was diagnosed with throat cancer.

"I felt like it wouldn't let up," says Brandon.

Once again, both families supported one another. Lois and Jackie coached Brandon's dad through the first weeks after his diagnosis. "They were like, 'This is what you need to tell the doctor. Don't leave the doctor's office without asking these questions.'"

As Brandon's dad began treatment, the family learned Lois had stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

"Everything progressed way too fast,” Brandon says. “It was a miserable experience."

Lois passed away in December 2025. "It hit my wife and I very hard," Brandon says.

As they grieved, Brandon and Jackie started looking for a way to honor Lois by giving back to the community. "Lois was always giving back to the people who helped her,” says Brandon. “After surviving breast and ovarian cancer, she started a polka benefit dance for local cancer patients."

Lois, Jackie and Jackie’s sister are Slovenian American and are proud of their heritage. Each year, Lois held the benefit dance, called Pretty in Pink, at her local Slovenian lodge in Western Pennsylvania. “She did it every year without fail,” says Brandon.

To follow in her footsteps, Brandon and Jackie looked for their own way to give back. Brandon had already committed to running the 2026 Marine Corps Marathon this fall, so he decided to run for a charity. His search led him to Cancer Support Community and Team CSC United.

Before then, Brandon and Jackie didn’t know about Cancer Support Community or its free programs and services for people affected by cancer. 

"One thing I regret is not using all the resources available during my wife's cancer journey," Brandon says. "I was overwhelmed. When I learned about Team CSC United, I thought, 'I can help.' Going through cancer with my wife was such a terrible, terrible experience. Once you make it through an experience like that, you want to help others who are facing it."

Brandon has run the Marine Corps Marathon before. But extreme heat forced the race to close early after he had completed 24 of the 26 miles. “I want to redeem myself," he says with a chuckle.

A marathon gives you a lot of time to think, adds Brandon. During the Oct. 25 race, Brandon says he will be remembering the country’s fallen service members and also the cancer experience he, Jackie, and their families have shared.

Both Jackie and Brandon’s dad are doing well today, and that’s something to celebrate. Running a marathon may not be everyone’s idea of a celebration, but for Brandon it is.

"A marathon is like a celebration of what you can do with your body," he says. "I'm still here, and I'm still with my wife. I've got people who love and depend on me, and I'm thankful for that.”

Please join us. Support Brandon as he runs toward a future where no one faces cancer alone. 

Editor's note: The views expressed are solely those of the speaker in a personal capacity and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Marine Corps, the Department of the Navy, the Department of War, or the U.S. Government.