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Woman Dumps Fiancé After Cancer Diagnosis, Runs Marathon For Him Instead

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Photo not from story (Photo by Eva Marie UZCATEGUI / AFP) (Photo by EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/AFP via Getty Images)

Kate Hirzel Contributor
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A woman said in an op-ed published Friday that she dumped her fiancé because his cancer diagnosis was too damaging to her mental health and is running a marathon for him instead.

In the article, Danielle Epstein wrote that her fiancé had malignant stage-four brain cancer and that his chances of surviving five years were 65 percent. Epstein described how she struggled to watch her fiancé grow sicker and feared the possibility of long-term side effects from his cancer treatment.

“I had been so close to having everything I wanted and then, all of a sudden, it had been snatched away,” Epstein wrote. (RELATED: Influencer Admits She Killed Two Cats As A Child, Immediately Gets Hit With Fierce Backlash)

Doctors asked Epstein to wait until after her fiancé’s surgery to dump him. The surgery was successful, but he was left with double vision and paralysis on the right side of his face and had to relearn how to write and walk. 

When Epstein discussed ending their relationship, her fiancé said there was still “a chance it can be cured.” Despite his pleas, Epstein left two weeks later.

“I can’t see a way I can be happy with you anymore,” Epstein told him, according to her op-ed. Epstein also wrote that even though her ex-fiancé was optimistic, her own mental health was in decay and she believed he needed someone stronger to help him through recovery.

On Sunday, Epstein plans to run the London Marathon for brain tumor research. She is also raising money through JustGiving to help fund research. Epstein said she and her ex-fiancé remain friends.

Epstein’s op-ed immediately sparked fierce backlash online.