Kasey Malanga ran her first-ever marathon on April 6 at the Delaware Running Festival. Eleven days later, she had her first (and, hopefully, last) endometriosis surgery. Today, she’s gearing up for the New York City Marathon on November 2 as part of EndoFound’s Team EndoStrong. She started training in June, just six weeks after surgery.
“It’s been a little bit of a challenge getting back into it, but it’s going very well,” Malanga said. “I’m not seeing any limitations, and I’m not having as much back pain. During my first marathon training, there were times when I’d have to stop because my legs would lock, but I don’t have to worry about that anymore. And my recoveries are much better after runs.”
The central New Jersey resident and native of Staten Island is one of 50 members competing this year for Team EndoStrong. Last year’s team raised nearly $225,000 for EndoFound, which is entering its eleventh year as a charity partner with the marathon. This year’s goal is $300,000.
Click Here To Support Kasey Malanga's Marathon Fundraiser
Malanga, 30, began experiencing endometriosis symptoms with her first period. She dealt with heavy bleeding and pain throughout high school and college with no relief.
“Everyone always chalked it up to being normal,” Malanga said. “At my annual gynecologist appointment, they’d say, ‘Oh, just go on birth control,’ but that never worked for me. When I went to a doctor in college because of my back pain, they said, ‘It’s probably your dorm room bed. You should see a chiropractor.’ I just powered through it.”
But the symptoms began to overwhelm her about four years ago.
“I had intense pelvic pain to the point where I couldn’t walk or do normal tasks,” Malanga said. “One doctor told me they found kidney stones, but I had no history of them. So were they really kidney stones? I don’t know. Others told me I was just stressed. I was also given antibiotics and other meds for what seemed like UTIs, though I think now it was endo pressing against my bladder.”
Not trusting any of the diagnoses or remedies she’d received, Malanga determined that she might have endometriosis after hearing model and EndoFound ambassador Olivia Culpo share her story on her reality TV show, The Culpo Sisters.
“I’d never heard the word ‘endometriosis’ until Olivia’s show came out and she talked about her pain on the show,” Malanga said. “I realized that I had a lot of the same symptoms, and that’s when I started to do my own research to see what journeys people were on and if they were similar to mine.”
Through Instagram, Reddit, EndoFound.org, and the hashtag endowarriors, Malanga found several women to whom she could relate. That led her to search for an endometriosis specialist through Google reviews and referrals from friends. Early this year, she found one about an hour away from her home.
“He was the first to take all of my symptoms seriously—not being able to get out of bed, heavy periods, painful intercourse—all of those things that other doctors said, ‘Oh, it’s fine, it’s just what females go through.’ He was the first to do an exam and say, ‘It doesn’t feel normal. I want to do surgery to see what we can find.’”
Malanga held off on surgery until April so that she could run the marathon in Delaware—“My last hurrah,” she said. The surgeon excised five lesions from her bladder. Though she was only in stage I, the location of the disease was what caused her so much pain. Today, Malanga said her pain is at a minimum, her cycles are much more manageable, and her quality of life is significantly improved.
“One of the main things I’ve learned about having endometriosis is that it’s never really talked about by anyone else unless you bring it up yourself and advocate for yourself,” she said. “You have to be open about it, not be ashamed, and keep pushing for a doctor who will fight for answers for you.”
And because Malanga pushed so hard, the Delaware race wasn’t her last hurrah.
“The New York City Marathon has been one of my dreams,” Malanga said. “My goal for the [Delaware] marathon was to not stop and not walk, and I accomplished that. I finished it in five hours and 18 minutes, and I hope I can beat that in New York, but my main goal is to have fun. I always say that a marathon is the celebration of all the work you put in to train for it, so that’s my mindset. It’s about advocacy and running—my two favorite things.”
To support Kasey Malanga in the New York City Marathon with a donation, visit https://give.endofound.org/fundraiser/6427463.
