US: Mother runs through 51 national parks to honour daughter who died of cancer

Washington, Nov 14: A mother ran for more than 400 miles through 51 national parks in the US to honour her young daughter who died of a rare of a form of cancer affecting the adrenal cortex above the kidneys.

Anna Rose had adrenocortical carcinoma and though her family had expected her to survive for at least a few years, she lost the battle within nine months. Before Anna's passing away, her mother Gil Schaenzle came up with the idea of running through all of the US's national parks and Anna was eager to join it. Gil backed the idea even though she was recovering from a surgery in ankle and knee that she had injured during a half marathon. "And I told her about it one day while she was throwing up from chemo. And she said, I'm gonna do them all with you, Mom," Gil said, according to NowThisNews.

Gil then paired up with The Healing NET Foundation, a non-profit organisation that helps in getting care for patients of neuroendocrine cancer which is often misdiagnosed because of lack of information. Gil raised more than $12,300 for patients of this form of cancer.