When Sarah Cormier laces up for the 129th Boston Marathon in April with Team BMC, it won’t be her first time taking on 26.2 miles. An avid runner, Sarah has completed seven marathons in 10 years — including three in Boston, one in Berlin, and one, most recently, in Tokyo. But this next one is special, as it will be her first year running in support of Boston Medical Center, where she received life-saving care for thyroid cancer.
A few years after being diagnosed with Grave’s disease and thyroid nodules, Sarah transitioned her endocrinology care over to BMC. Not only was her doctor, Shirin Haddady, MD, MPH, moving to BMC, but BMC also offered a more proactive treatment plan. Though thyroid nodules are common, slow-growing, and mostly benign, some can turn cancerous. Sarah wanted to keep a closer eye on her nodules and was no longer comfortable with the more conservative “wait-and-see” approach.
By the second ultrasound at BMC, Sarah’s nodules had grown large enough to biopsy, and in August of 2019, Sarah found out she had stage 1 thyroid cancer. “Because of the additional scans at BMC, I was able to catch the cancer early, before it spread to my lymph nodes,” she says. “I truly owe my life and continued health to BMC.”
“There is nothing more important than our health, and BMC makes sure that excellent care is accessible across all socio-economic levels. More than ever before, it is imperative that we support institutions like BMC that strive to make our community healthier.”
After a successful surgery to remove her thyroid, Sarah started on daily thyroid replacement medication and has been cancer-free ever since. As she heads to the starting line on Marathon Monday, Sarah remains grateful for the care she received. “I am proud to represent BMC as I run the 2025 Boston Marathon,” she says. “There is nothing more important than our health, and BMC makes sure that excellent care is accessible across all socio-economic levels. More than ever before, it is imperative that we support institutions like BMC that strive to make our community healthier.”
Sarah is part of an 81-member team that’s raising funds for BMC’s efforts to close race-based health inequities and provide innovative services for patients and their families. These flexible funds are critical, allowing BMC to remain nimble, responsive, and able to fill gaps in lifesaving care.
