Karen Pearman really wanted to run the Bermuda Half-Marathon Derby but she’d only just beaten cancer. She didn’t know if she had the strength.

In February, she decided “enough was enough” and started training: six miles four days a week, with a 5.30am start.

“I made it from Astwood Park in Warwick to the Bermuda Regiment and I was so out of breath,” she said. “I was complaining and felt angry. It took a while to run and be comfortable. I kept going because I know running makes you feel very powerful and strong. I am learning to relax while I run.

“Last Sunday, I ran eight miles for the first time. It felt fantastic, especially considering that just a year ago, I was in the middle of cancer treatment.”

Doctors diagnosed non-Hodgkins lymphoma last February. She’d complained of pain in her legs and pelvis for months.

“I knew something was wrong,” said Ms Pearman. “I was taking a lot of Advil. I started taking a hot water bottle everywhere with me to try to soothe the pain.”

Testing at Dana Farber Cancer Institute revealed the disease had reached stage four, the worst-case scenario.

“I was shocked,” she said. “What the doctor was saying was just going over my head.”

She was even more surprised when she saw her PET scan.

“I just saw the white spots everywhere,” she said. “I thought, oh my God, I’m not going be able to beat this. It was in my bone marrow.”

But her doctor reassured her that she had every chance of survival. She was otherwise healthy and in shape.

Treatment included six rounds of chemotherapy in Bermuda and three rounds of methotrexate, a more aggressive medication, at Dana Farber.

She also began eating and drinking as healthy as she could.

“It was really hard telling my children,” she said. “My daughter, Jade Belboda, was 18 and in university and my son, Kieran Evans, was 24 and at home with me.

“I waited until I was absolutely sure before telling my daughter.”

Karen had heard so many horror stories about chemotherapy, she was terrified when she started treatment.

“The nurses in the Oncology Department were excellent in calming my fears,” she said. “Everybody reacts to treatment differently. I didn’t have fatigue or nausea. I did have emotional side effects.

“I had trouble sleeping and felt very overwhelmed. Sometimes, I overreacted to things. In addition, I was on Prednisone for five days after chemotherapy; a steroid which can keep you awake. I had outbursts, mood changes and hunger, which was hard. The chemotherapy gave me sores in my mouth and it also caused a metal taste in my mouth.”

It didn’t help that people weren’t always thoughtful with their comments. Some told her she didn’t look “sick”. More than one person suggested cinnamon and honey as cancer cures.

“I know they were well-meaning,” the 50-year-old said. “You get a sense of how frail we really are. You find out who your friends really are. You get some pleasant surprises, and people you are expecting to step in, don’t. Some people just can’t handle it.”

She had her last chemo treatment in June. Having conquered cancer, a lot of things she once feared weren’t so scary any more.

“When I came back from Boston, people at work were taking a fun day and going jet skiing,” said the BNY Mellon employee. “I didn’t know how to swim, but I said what the heck.

“I’d always wanted to try it. It was fantastic. It was the best therapy ever.

“Cancer should make you a better person. Things you don’t want to deal with, you have to deal with. You don’t want to waste time. You want to be fearless.”

On May 24, she’ll be wearing a KCP T-shirt to highlight her Facebook group, KCP-Keeping Courageous Persistently.

“On August 11, 2016 I was given a clean bill of health,” she said. “When I finished chemo I was like, okay I’m not taking chemo, am I going to be okay? Is it going to come back?

“Not going to the doctor every month to check was scary. Then I had to wait for six weeks to make sure everything was settled. You miss a lot of stuff. You are playing catch-up. Your life is on hold and everyone else’s is still going on. There is an emotional part of it that you still go through, just trying to get back to normal.”