Caroline Ramseyer
Caroline Ramseyer is a Media Strategist at ddm marketing and communications in Grand Rapids. She shares her home with her husband, Adam, their two boys, Henry and Elliot, and their dog Ozzie. Life has been very full with two active kids but Caroline still squeezed in time to embroider, paint, read, and to train for races (her favorites being The Detroit Free Press Half-Marathon and the Riverbank Run 25k).
An avid and regular distance runner who is obsessed with performance metrics, Caroline was very in tune with her system and abilities. This all changed in fall 2023. In two months, she went from running 10 miles to stopping short of half a mile due to breathing issues and intense upper back pain.
Following months of medical visits, appointments, tests, assessments, and scans, she was diagnosed with ALK positive anaplastic large-cell lymphoma on December 20, 2023.
“We had just lost two friends earlier that year to sudden and quick fights with cancer. This pre-Christmas diagnosis felt like the end of the world,” she said. “We know plenty of people who are cancer survivors, who live and thrive for years post-illness. But getting that diagnosis felt like a death sentence. Researching online made everything feel bleak and incomprehensible.”
“I fully believe the American Cancer Society’s research and funding helped find the medications and treatment options that saved my life,” Caroline continued. “They work with area oncologists to ensure people living in West Michigan have access to these treatments. Thanks to their dedication, I didn’t have to move closer to a treatment facility. I was able to remain in my home, minutes from my oncology team, I was still working, I was able to cheer on my boys at soccer games. I know I am luckier than most, my treatments didn’t have extreme side effects, and I was able to push through those that hit.”
Caroline said thanks to her treatment, she’s once again living life to the fullest, including running her first 5k this fall.
“When I’m not chasing after kids, chasing my next race PR, or enjoying life with my husband, I’m busy embroidering Carhartt hats and hoops as commissioned art,” she said.
