SANFORD — “She was a remarkable woman,” said Fred Berren about his wife, Jody. “She was one tough cookie.”

Jody Vlodek Berren, 39, of Sanford, died Jan. 17, after a 7 1/2-year battle with breast cancer.

On June 21, at the Kennebunk High School track, during the opening ceremony of Relay for Life of York County, Berren will talk about his wife, her fighting spirit and the importance of the fight against cancer.

Relay for Life events, which take place around the globe, are fundraising events for the American Cancer Society.

Berren said he asked to speak at the event because “I wanted to do something to pay tribute and to honor my wife.”

His wife became involved in the relay after her cancer diagnosis, said Berren. She was the captain of the team Hope on the Move, originally call Hot Mamas. After her death, Berren said he jumped on the team and is a co-captain this year.

For the Berrens, their cancer journey began more than seven years ago. In October 2006, Jody, who was 32 at the time, discovered a lump when she was pumping milk for the couple’s youngest child, a daughter who is now 8. The couple also have a son, who is 11 years old.

Initially, said Berren, the doctor thought the lump was just a clogged milk duct, but the couple soon learned the devastating news that Jody had stage 3 breast cancer.

The doctors treated the cancer aggressively.

Jody underwent a bilateral mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation and reconstructive surgery.

But from the beginning, said Berren, “Jody’s road was a hard road.”

Early on, a piece of the port that is used to administer chemotherapy broke off and was heading to her heart, so surgery was needed to remove it. In 2008, while the family was sledding in Gowen Park, Jody banged her head, said Berren, and when she tried to get up she had no feeling in her leg.

The family took her to the hospital and learned she had two tumors in her brain, which were treated with radiation. Additional lesions in the brain arose over the next few years and in August 2013, another tumor was found, for which Jody had surgery.

She took a turn for the worse in December, when she was diagnosed with leptomeningeal disease. On Jan. 4, she had a seizure and was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she died.

But despite all her health problems, said Berren, “Jody remained hopeful.”

“We didn’t say, ”˜Why us?’” he said. “We normalized everything to the extent we could.”

“We lived each day to fullest,” said Berren.

For Jody, that meant continuing to work as a registered dietitian for Home Health Visiting Nurses’ Diabetes Education program and the Sanford-Springvale YMCA. She stayed active physically, running races like the TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race several times.

In addition, she was active in her church, the Curtis Lake Christian Church. In 2012, she went with the church on a 10-day mission to Romania.

That mission exemplifies how “selfless” Jody was, said Berren.

“I always knew how special she was,” he said, “but when I think back, it’s truly remarkable the effect she had on others.”

When she was sick, he said local people prayed for her, and so did people from Romania and Mexico, where Berren had visited on missions. At her memorial service, Berren said, more than 750 people turned out.

“She had a lot of people in her corner,” he said.

Jody’s philosophy is best characterized by the woman herself. In the Maine Health 2011 Calendar, Jody is quoted as saying, “No one can gain one moment of their life worrying about what tomorrow will bring. I can’t gain one second, one moment, of my life back by worrying. I will do everything I can to be healthy, to be happy and to enjoy my family and friends.”

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.