“One of the things I’ve learned over 20 years of surviving cancer is that you need to trust your doctors to make the right choices, but that you need to do your part too, and that is where exercise comes in,” said John St. Omer, age 61. “If they are doing what they can, I should be doing what I can.”
That is St. Omer’s message to the world, and a philosophical outlook he has learned through his own hard work... along with trial and error.
On Sunday, March 23, 2025, St. Omer joined the Fox Chase running team at the annual Phillies Charities 5K, which was presented this year by Fox Chase Cancer Center. The 5K course takes participants on a 3.1 mile path around the South Philadelphia sports complex, beginning and ending at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Fightin’ Phils.
“It’s an immense privilege to represent Fox Chase Cancer Center at events like the Phillies 5K, where we get to run alongside those who face cancer every day—our dedicated providers and staff, our inspiring patients, and their families,” said Alexander Kutikov, MD, FACS, Professor and Chair of Fox Chase’s Department of Urology, and the Roberta R. Scheller Chair in Urologic Oncology.
A recreational runner, Kutikov is one of the leads for Fox Chase’s unofficial running team, which takes part in races across the region. “Our partnership with the Phillies amplifies our mission, shining a spotlight on the world-class cancer care we provide right here in Philadelphia.”
After years of running with another local fundraising group, which eventually broke up, St. Omer applied his legs to the Team Fox Chase effort.
“I have felt like I was part of a Fox Chase team for years,” said St. Omer, “but now I’m running with them too.”
Learning a Philosophy the Hard Way
John St. Omer was born in Jamaica. His father was a hotel manager and, after he passed, his mother brought their family to the United States. St. Omer followed in his father’s footsteps and found success as he traversed positions of increasing responsibility across the hospitality industry around New York and New Jersey.
Currently, he is the Hospitality General Manager of a major chain hotel in Old City, Philadelphia, and savors his after-work runs through Penn’s Landing.
“A five-mile run after work makes for great sleep,” said St. Omer.
St. Omer was never a serious runner until a few years after he was first diagnosed with cancer. He was, in fact, an avid golfer and is the current President of the Del Val Golf Club, one of the nation’s first “nomadic” African-American golfing societies.
Del Val was founded in 1954 by two Tuskegee Airmen and a successful Philadelphia real estate entrepreneur who had to fight discrimination against African-Americans in order to find courses. Del Val is now one of many so-called “Pro Duffer” groups across the country.
While he cannot always claim the fastest speed on the racecourse, St. Omer remains highly competitive on the golf course. Two years ago, at the Pro-Duffers National Tournament at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Fla., St. Omer was the low gross champion—that is, the lowest score over the course of the tournament—at age 60. Naturally, St. Omer walked the course.
According to St. Omer, his cancer journey began one day in 2005 when he came home after a round of golf. A sudden feeling came over him, and he became ill in the bathroom. He called his wife, who worked in a medical office. Her colleagues told her to send him to the hospital as soon as possible. By the time St. Omer walked down the stairs, he passed out and awoke in the ambulance.
“I was bleeding internally and apparently there was a tumor in my stomach, but they never told me it was cancerous,” said St. Omer. “They just sent me on my way and two years later, it came back.” He was diagnosed with a Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor, or GIST, which can re-occur over time.
That is when St. Omer first came to Fox Chase Cancer Center. To more aggressively treat GIST, St. Omer began on oral chemotherapeutics, and that is when St. Omer claims that he made a mistake.
“I was on the pill indefinitely and, after a while, I stopped taking it; I just felt like my body became used to it, so I really took it for granted,” St. Omer said. “I had forgotten that the medicine was giving me options in life, and I realized that I also had to do my part when I became ill again.”
As St. Omer explains, the body is like a car. You need to run it regularly to keep it running properly. “And when it breaks down, you just can’t leave it and say ‘hey, repair yourself,’” he said.
“So, for the past ten years, I’ve been running like Forrest Gump,” he continued. “I realized that mental and physical fitness were both going to be key to my recovery.” Not everybody can wake up every morning to run five miles, St. Omer recognizes, but he believes that anybody can take charge of their lives in small ways that make a difference.
“Running gives me energy to face challenges, but I know not everyone can run,” St. Omer said. “So, eat well and get up and just walk a little bit, if you can. If you can move one mile, you can do two, whatever it takes.”
It is a sentiment echoed by one of his Fox Chase physicians, Margaret von Mehren, MD, Chief of Fox Chase’s Division of Sarcoma Medical Oncology and a world-leading expert on GIST. According to St. Omer, he visited his physicians at Fox Chase, including von Mehren, the week before the race, and they all gave him winning marks.
“When people ask me what can I do when facing cancer, I remind them that they need to keep the rest of their body healthy so they are able to meet any future challenges with their cancer or other health problems they may have,” said von Mehren. “Staying active and fit as well as eating well are really important.”
“Mr. St. Omer is a great example of how to live as a cancer survivor – staying active and physically fit, engaged with life and those around you!”
In the Long Run with Fox Chase
Fox Chase has been dedicated to John St. Omer, he believes, and he has committed to staying with Fox Chase for his care as he has changed positions and insurance providers over the years.
“I will always be an advocate for Fox Chase, because I know the quality doctors and quality people,” said St. Omer. “They make everyone feel special – it is all about you – and the journey is always easier when you have good people like Margaret von Mehren by your side.”
“You have to have the confidence that they have your best interest at heart,” St. Omer explained. “The biggest struggle, for me, was finding a way to accept that the therapy is out of my hands and to trust the treatment I was receiving was the right one.”
Over a decade later, running remains a big part of St. Omer’s recovery. He recalls that, after his last major surgery, he ran a 10-miler 43 days after he left the hospital—only two weeks after they removed the surgical staples.
“I was 52 when I ran my first marathon, and when I crossed that finish line, I thought to myself ‘I am never doing this again,’” St. Omer said. “But two days later, when I could move my legs again, I wanted nothing more than to do another.”
According to St. Omer, racing conditions Sunday morning at the Phillies 5K were cold at the start, but “you warmed up once you started moving.” He ran the race at a 12-minute-per-mile pace, which was a solid showing.
“I’m not here to break records or to break hearts,” St. Omer said before the race, “And you may see me cry a bit at the end, because each finish line signifies another chapter.”