All marathoners have their own particular motivations for running a 26.2-mile race — and for Molly Anderson, Sarah Edwards and Laura Haley, it was to honor Rosie De Queljoe Herzog, their longtime friend who is living with lupus.

As a 30th birthday surprise, the three runners flew De Queljoe Herzog from her home in Los Angeles to the Big Apple, where she was able to cheer them on as they ran the New York City Marathon on Nov. 5.

Anderson, Edwards and Haley were part of Team Life Without Lupus, the official competitive team of the Lupus Research Alliance, the largest private funder of lupus research in the world.

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The four friends shared with Fox News Digital what the experience meant to them — and how its impact is lasting well beyond that one day.

‘Something larger’

It was in 2021 when De Queljoe Herzog, a public relations professional, first started noticing symptoms, including rapid hair loss, joint pain, fatigue, swelling of her face and hands — and a malar rash (butterfly rash) on her face.

“In the early days, I attributed the hair loss to a stressful 2020 and stressful work schedule, but it turned out to be something larger,” she told Fox News Digital. 

In early 2022, De Queljoe Herzog was officially diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus, an inflammatory disease that occurs when the immune system attacks its own tissues.

She was hospitalized due to a lupus flare-up shortly after that. 

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“I was put on a number of drugs to help quell the flare,” she said. 

“I’ve been able to taper off some of the drugs since then, but am still on a few to help keep future flares at bay. I am no longer in a flare and am back to feeling healthy and ‘normal.’”

Over a decade of friendship

The four friends, all 30 years old, attended college together at the University of Arizona, where they competed on the triathlon team and developed an “inseparable bond,” said De Queljoe Herzog.

Their friendships continued to thrive after graduation. They were in each other’s weddings and took trips together.

Team Life Without Lupus, the official competitive team of the Lupus Research Alliance, are pictured with family and friends. “The energy and spectators, especially all our friends and family who came out to watch, were absolutely electric,” said Edwards. (Lupus Research Alliance)

“We’re all so uniquely different, but have such an incredible time when we’re all together,” De Queljoe Herzog told Fox News Digital.

She was “floored” when her friends said they would be running the NYC Marathon on her behalf to support the Lupus Research Alliance. 

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“It was such a selfless act of friendship and love,” she told Fox News Digital. “They know how much lupus has impacted my overall health, and to see them rally around me and around lupus research was astonishing.”

De Queljoe Herzog and her husband traveled to New York City to watch the race.

“It was such a fun weekend and race day — we were able to catch them at three different points during the race to cheer them on,” she said. “It was an emotional day that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.” 

“They know how much lupus has impacted my overall health, and to see them rally around me and around lupus research was astonishing.”

For those who are just starting their lupus journeys, De Queljoe Herzog stressed the importance of finding a support system to lean on.

“It can be a lonely road, but friends and family make it so much more manageable — especially friends who provide an endless supply of belly laughs.”

A race to remember

For the three runners, the race represented a way to support their friend while also marking a significant accomplishment.

“As much as I would do anything to take Rosie’s symptoms and flares away, I can’t,” said Anderson, who lives in Spain and works as a sports psychologist. 

The team is pictured with Rosie De Queljoe Herzog along the race course. “Being able to run with two of my best friends for such a great purpose was incredibly gratifying and emotional,” said Anderson. (Lupus Research Alliance)

“It’s difficult living so far away, but after her diagnosis, I began to brainstorm ways to support her in my own way,” she went on. “That was when I had the idea to fund-raise for lupus research and encourage her to come to support the race.”

The other two runners, Edwards and Haley, were on board right away.

“We have always been motivated by physical and athletic challenges, so this seemed like the perfect combination of a challenge for us and raising money for an amazing cause,” said Edwards, who lives in Bend, Oregon, and works as an outreach coordinator for environmental organizations.

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“I’ve always dreamed of experiencing the magic of New York City and the energy I had always heard about in the marathon setting,” she went on.

Race day exceeded the team’s expectations, the women agreed.

“Being able to run with two of my best friends for such a great purpose was incredibly gratifying and emotional,” said Anderson.

The friends embrace along the NYC Marathon race course. Edwards described the race as “pure magic from start to finish.” (Lupus Research Alliance)

Edwards described the race as “pure magic from start to finish.”

“It was like running on cloud nine — it felt like a dream,” she said. “The energy and spectators, especially all our friends and family who came out to watch, were absolutely electric.”

She added, “My most sore muscles after the race were my cheeks from smiling the whole time.”

“Seeing Rosie at mile 18 made me remember why I was doing this, made me cry and helped me get to the finish line.”

Haley, who lives in Tucson, Arizona, and works as a physical therapist, said the best part of the race was taking the ferry to Staten Island and watching the sunrise over Manhattan with her best friends, as well as running through Brooklyn and the Bronx.

“The people were so fun and full of life, energy and support,” she said.

Haley said she struggled at around mile 16, and found herself wishing she had trained more.

The team is pictured celebrating along the marathon race course. “Every time I got tired or frustrated during training for this race, I would think of how much frustration Rosie has been through with lupus,” Edwards said. (Lupus Research Alliance)

“Oftentimes, while training or running the marathon, I would want to stop or ask myself, ‘Why am I doing this? This is miserable,’” she recalled. 

“And those moments are when I would remember Rosie’s challenges. It would make me grateful for my healthy body and carry me through those rough times.”

Haley added, “Seeing Rosie at mile 18 made me remember why I was doing this, made me cry and helped me get to the finish line.”

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Running the marathon was “a huge joy” for all of them, said Edwards.

“And what has been even better is raising so much awareness among our family and friends through the fundraising process,” she said. “The more people know about lupus, the more support we can raise to find a cure one day.”

“Every time I got tired or frustrated during training for this race, I would think of how much frustration Rosie has been through with lupus.”

While De Queljoe Herzog is grateful for her friends’ support, they all agree that she is a huge source of motivation for them.

“Before her diagnosis, Rosie was always the most positive person I knew,” said Anderson. “She is an incredible listener and has an incredible ability to process information in a way that is productive. After her diagnosis, she was able to channel these parts of herself to listen to her body and manage her symptoms.”

Lupus is one of the most complex autoimmune diseases, according to the Lupus Research Alliance. “It affects each person differently with symptoms that are sometimes hard to detect and differ from patient to patient,” the organization notes on its website. (iStock)

Edwards said thoughts of her friend’s challenges helped get her through the race preparations.

“Every time I got tired or frustrated during training for this race, I would think of how much frustration Rosie has been through with lupus,” she told Fox News Digital.

“She is incredibly thoughtful and the kindest person I know. She motivates me to be a better person every day.”

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Albert Roy, president and CEO of Lupus Research Alliance, noted the significant impact that all of the teams make toward advancing research.

“We so appreciate how these young women and all the members of our Team Life Without Lupus ran the world’s largest marathon to raise both awareness and funds for lupus research,” he commented to Fox News Digital.

Women make up about 9 out of 10 adults with the disease. 

“By pushing themselves to reach the finish line, they challenge us to keep striving to reach our goal — more treatments and ultimately a cure.”

Lupus is one of the most complex autoimmune diseases an individual can have, the organization notes. “It affects each person differently, with symptoms that are sometimes hard to detect and differ from patient to patient,” the group says on its website (lupusresearch.org).

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While anyone can get lupus, the disease most often affects women, who make up about 9 out of 10 adults with the disease, the group also notes. 

The chronic autoimmune disease affects millions of people worldwide. Doctors don’t know exactly what causes lupus, but they believe that something, or a combination of things, triggers the immune system to attack the body, WebMD indicates.

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Among the latest artificial intelligence innovations in health care, a routine chest X-ray could help identify non-smokers who are at a high risk for lung cancer.

The study findings will be presented this week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago.

Researchers from the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center (CIRC) at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School in Boston developed a deep learning AI model using 147,497 chest X-rays of asymptomatic smokers and never-smokers.

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The model “learned” to recognize patterns associated with lung disease in the X-ray images.

Next, the researchers applied the AI model to a total of 17,407 patients, with an average age of 63 years old.

Of the 28% of patients flagged as high risk by the AI model, 2.9% of them were later diagnosed with lung cancer within the next six years.

That was more than twice the share of the patients in the low-risk group who ultimately were diagnosed.

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“The AI tool could identify non-smokers at a high risk of developing lung cancer over the next six years,” said senior author Michael T. Lu, M.D., director of artificial intelligence and co-director of CIRC at MGH, in an email to Fox News Digital. 

“The AI accomplished this by ‘looking’ at existing chest X-ray images obtained for cough, fever or other routine indications.”

Researchers developed a deep learning AI model using 147,497 chest X-rays of 40,643 asymptomatic smokers and never-smokers. (iStock)

Chest X-rays are one of the most common medical tests, Lu noted. 

“The underlying idea is that there is information on the chest X-ray about the individual’s health and risk of cancer that we currently don’t use, but can be extracted from the image using AI,” he said. 

“This is a way to get more value out of existing chest X-rays, and for patients to make more personalized decisions about their health.”

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The study findings could help open up new detection opportunities for non-smokers, who tend to fall between the cracks when it comes to screening for this disease.

“Lung cancer is increasingly common in non-smokers, but currently we have very limited tools to tell who is at risk of lung cancer and who could benefit from further tests like lung cancer screening chest CT scans,” Lu said.  

“Since cigarette smoking rates are declining, approaches to detect[ing] lung cancer early in those who do not smoke are going to be increasingly important,” he added.

There is no recommended lung screening for people who have never smoked or have only smoked very little. (iStock)

Current guidelines from the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and Medicare recommend lung cancer screenings for adults between the ages of 50 and 80 who have at least a 20-pack-year smoking history and who currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years.

There is no recommended screening for people who have never smoked or have only smoked very little.

“However, lung cancer is increasingly common in never-smokers and often presents at an advanced stage,” said the study’s lead author, Anika S. Walia, a medical student at Boston University School of Medicine and researcher at CIRC, in a statement. 

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The main limitation of the study is that it was retrospective, meaning the researchers looked at people who had chest X-rays in the past. 

“This was necessary to be able to know who was later diagnosed with lung cancer in the six years after the chest X-ray,” Lu noted.

An AI expert noted that the model’s use of routine chest X-rays makes it a “potentially accessible and cost-effective tool for early detection.” (iStock)

Looking ahead, the study authors said that a clinical trial is necessary to determine whether high-risk people identified by the AI tool would benefit from further tests. 

“Lung cancer screening CT is much more accurate than chest X-ray for detecting lung cancer, but it is not feasible or desirable for all non-smokers to get” a CT scan, Lu said. 

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“This AI tool could help identify the non-smokers at the highest risk who are most likely to benefit from CT.”

Dr. Harvey Castro, a Dallas, Texas-based board-certified emergency medicine physician and national speaker on artificial intelligence in health care, was not involved in the study but offered his input on the findings.

Dr. Harvey Castro, a Dallas, Texas-based board-certified emergency medicine physician and national speaker on artificial intelligence in health care, offered his input on the new findings. (Dr. Harvey Castro)

“The use of AI to predict lung cancer risk in never-smokers is a significant advancement,” he told Fox News Digital in an email. 

“It addresses a gap in current screening guidelines, which primarily focus on individuals with a history of smoking.”

He noted that the model’s use of routine chest X-rays makes it a “potentially accessible and cost-effective tool for early detection.”

“Around 10% to 20% of lung cancers occur in people who have never smoked cigarettes or have smoked fewer than 100 total cigarettes.”

The fact that the AI model was developed and validated using a large dataset adds credibility to its predictive power, Castro added.

The expert pointed out some caveats, however.

“There is a potential risk of overdiagnosis and overtreatment,” he said.

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The potential for ethical and privacy concerns could also be a concern, Castro noted.

“The use of AI in health care raises questions about data privacy and the ethical implications of algorithm-based decision-making,” he said.

Castro also called for the study to be replicated in diverse populations to ensure that it applies across different demographic groups.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, with around 238,340 new cases and 127,070 deaths expected in the U.S. this year, according to the American Cancer Society. (iStock)

“Longer-term studies beyond six years would also be beneficial to understand the full implications of using this AI tool.”

Overall, Castro said the study presents a “promising tool” for lung cancer screening in never-smokers, but that it requires careful consideration of its potential risks and limitations. 

“As an ER physician interested in AI and health care, such insights are crucial for evaluating the practical and ethical implications of integrating AI into clinical practice,” he said.

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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, with around 238,340 new cases and 127,070 deaths expected in the U.S. this year, according to the American Cancer Society.

Around 10% to 20% of lung cancers occur in people who have never smoked cigarettes or have smoked fewer than 100 total cigarettes in their lives.

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