REPUBLIC, Mo. You've probably heard about U.S. Olympic swimmer Eric Shanteau's battle against cancer. He's competing in the Olympics -- and will return home to face a surgeon. Right here in the Ozarks, we have a local athlete who's stared down a deadly diagnosis and fought back.

"I'll get there -- that's my motto," said Kay Mason.

Take a good look at this woman as she straps in for another battle with her body (to see the video click on the icon near the top of the page). Just looking, you wouldn't know the fight that's raged in her chest and the courage in her heart.

"They say big things come in small packages and that's true of Kay Mason," said Jurt Larson.

Hearing Kay's breathing on the bike is about the only clue you'll get that this woman, who is training for an event where you bike, run and swim, is battling back from lung cancer. Just under her shirt, she has a long scar to prove it..

"They spread the ribs open and then they took a part of one of them out," said Mason.

Surgeons took part of Mason's lung in January. Before that she had chemotherapy and radiation.

For her, there's no quit. She's not done.

"You have two choices. You can either choose to live or choose to die in which way your brain starts thinking. I chose to live, so every step I took from there was a building block," she said.

"It's an image of tremendous energy and perseverance for others who see Kay Mason. She is, for all of us who are healthy -- and anybody suffering, we can look at Kay and know you can overcome that," said Larson.

When you see her on the bike, you might think the battle is over or nearly complete. But she says doctors tell her she has just a 5- to 15-percent chance of survival unless she makes it to five years cancer free.

"In my mind, I'm giving myself 30 years. I've got a bucket list made for the next 30 years, so I can't be leaving," said Mason.

On Aug. 23, she'll bike, run and swim in the Republic Triathlon. She doesn't promise she'll come in first. She just promises she won't quit until she crosses the finish line.

"I'm hooked backed together but it worked. I'm here. Every day is a blessing," she said.

Mason gave up smoking after 37 years. She doesn't know if that caused her cancer.

The Republic Tiger Triathlon is at Miller Park starting at 7 a.m. this Saturday.