Marine Corps Veteran and Marathoner Ran Through Brain Cancer Journey

For U.S. Marine Corps veteran and devout marathon runner Hank Donigan, not even a diagnosis of brain cancer could slow him down.

Donigan, 70, has run 525 lifetime marathons, including 50 marathons in 2023, the year he had surgery to remove a golf ball-sized tumor from his frontal cortex.

“Fortunately, I had the cooperation of my neurosurgeon and my radiology oncologist. They said, 'If you feel up to it, we're not going to restrict you,’” Donigan told CURE in a recent interview.

Donigan began running as a means of managing post-traumatic stress disorder that followed 30 years of military service and multiple combat deployments, and has raised $132,000 and counting through Semper Fi & America’s Fund to support other veterans.

He spoke with CURE about running through his cancer journey.

CURE: How did the recent marathon go?

It went great. The weather was perfect. It was my 30th lifetime Marine Corps Marathon at the age of 70, and it was my 26th in a row. So I'm feeling pretty good.

That's wonderful, congratulations.

I'm getting ready to get on a plane to go down to Mexico on Friday, I'm going to run a marathon Saturday and Sunday, which will bring me to 525 lifetime marathons.

Wow, that's incredible. And when did your cancer journey begin?

It began in 2022, so three years ago. My brain surgery was two years ago, and after that, I had 33 days of radiation, and I ran the entire time. So 2023 was the year, and I ran 50 marathons in 2023.

How important was that for you, both physically and psychologically, to stay active the entire time during treatment?

I think it was really critical, mentally, to keep me grounded and physically, I think it's a litmus test of your health. So, if something's not right, if you're running a marathon every seven days, you know it immediately. And fortunately, I had the cooperation of my neurosurgeon and my radiology oncologist, they said, “If you feel up to it, we're not going to restrict you.”

How was your brain tumor first detected?

I never had any symptoms. It was found by accident. I'm a veteran, and I was a volunteer with the VA for a research study. And as part of that study, they were studying blood flow for older people going from your heart up into your brain. So they did an MRI, and the next day after I had my MRI, I got a call from the lead researcher and he said, “We found something we didn't expect. You have a golf ball-sized tumor on your frontal cortex.”

So I was referred to a neurosurgeon at UCSD, which is where I got all of my treatment done and had a plan. It wasn't urgent to remove it, but the plan was to remove it and test it and it turned out that I need to follow on radiation, because the cells of that tumor were very aggressive. Now, I did not have a glioblastoma. If I had, I probably wouldn't be here right now.

But I had terrific care, and after my surgery, they said I had probably a 50% chance that my tumor would return without radiation, and we have a proton radiation center here in San Diego. It's only a few places in the country, and people come here to San Diego all over the world, and that proton radiation was right here on my doorstep. I think that made a big difference in me never developing any symptoms, even through the radiation, except halfway through my hair fell out.

Funny thing, my wife said, “You know, I kind of like it.” And then after about three months, like someone threw a switch, it started growing back. So it's, for the most part, grown back.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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