Cancer survivor beats odds, runs 2,000 miles to Maine
Helene Neville hoping to run entire perimeter of United States


A four-time cancer survivor made Portland part of her iconic mission Sunday to run the entire perimeter of the United States.

Helene Neville left Scarborough Sunday morning on the final leg of her 2,000 mile run from Marathon, Florida to Portland, Maine.

Neville has already run from California to Florida and Vancouver, Canada to Tijuana, Mexico.

What is even more impressive are the health battles she has fought just to get to this point.

Neville was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma in the 1990s and T-Cell lymphoma just two years ago. She has survived three brain surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation.

Now, she hopes to inspire other cancer survivors to not give up.

"I just wanted to go out and originally inspire nurses," said Neville. "I'm a nurse, and to be better ambassadors for healthy living, to inspire health in their patients, and it's just so much bigger. I stop and talk to school children, just the general public, and I just try and get everyone to think about health and inspire the next person."

Neville has one more task to accomplish in her 10,000-mile journey. She will now run approximately 3,200 miles from East Coast to West Coast, a run that is scheduled for 2015.