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closeParticipants speak out about Relay for Life
Walkers, researcher offer different sides of spectrum
Susan Schell
of the Gateway
The track at Goodman Middle School in Gig Harbor will get its annual pounding this weekend from walkers determined to battle cancer. Cancer survivors, their friends and families will embark on their all-night vigil, circling the track and sleeping in tents until daylight.
Each year, the Relay for Life event raises thousands of dollars to benefit cancer research, but this year, that research will have a face at the opening ceremonies.
Dr. George Laszlo, an American Cancer Society-funded researcher from Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, will be at the relay. He will give a short summary on how cancer research funding has affected his career.
“This will be my first experience at the relay,” he said. “A post-doctoral fellow is a segue to a career as a scientific investigator. You must find a project you can work on for a long time that is of great value.”
Laszlo said his research involves working on genes involved in human cancer and studying them on a molecular level.
“Some of the work I do should be relevant to a large type of human cancer,” he said. “We’re hoping to broaden my studies into human breast cancer.”
Laszlo said his goal for appearing at the relay is to allow the public access to someone who is benefiting from funds.
“I’ll be giving a presentation before the walk to give people an idea about more of the specifics about how a researcher benefits from their work,” he said.
Also new this year will be a unique opportunity for local residents to participate first-hand in the long-term Cancer Prevention Study-3. The American Cancer Society will enroll participants at the relay and allow researchers a chance to better identify the lifestyle, environmental and genetic factors that cause or prevent cancer.
For more information, visit the American Cancer Society’s Web site.
Why they’re involved
The American Cancer Society interviewed team members who plan to participate in Gig Harbor’s Relay for Life this year and asked them why they were participating.
Here are some of their answers:
Annette Spadoni Bannon and Frank Bannon, Cancer Prevention Study 3 Chairs, Alexei Salon, 12-year relayers: “I relay because I lost my dad to colon cancer, my mother to leukemia, sister to ovarian cancer, grandmother, aunts and cousins to ovarian cancer. We chair to find ways to live with cancer not die from cancer.”
Pam Massey, Relay for Life event chair, Alexei Salon, 13-year relayer: “I lost one grandfather, my favorite aunt, two uncles and another two aunts to cancer. My young nephew and mother’s husband are survivors. Someone has to do something to fight this disease, and I’ve taken on the job.”
Rob Felt, Gig Harbor Fire, 15-year relayer: “I’ve been with the Gig Harbor Fire Department for 20 years. I’ve been a team captain for four years — a friend with the fire department lost his life to cancer.”
Larry Spadoni, first-year relayer: “I know that someday soon I will have cancer — it runs in the family. It’s time to help fight back.”
Joanne Saul, DUCK Family Team, 10-year relayer: “Ten years ago, my very good friend Barb was battling breast cancer. I was very honored when she asked me to be a part of her family’s team. Little did I know that I would be joining the survivors, too. Eight years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I remember the first year I walked the survivor lap with Barb, my eyes were very leaky.”
Sharon Marr, Alexei Salon, 12-year relayer: “I began relaying to support my sister and father who died from cancer. I continue to support survivors and victims of cancer.”
Wendy Lentz, Family & Friends, four-year relayer and longtime attendee: “In 2000, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Two years later, my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. I started by going to the track and walking. I was really touched by the luminaria ceremony and for several years went and walked without being on a team. I started my team four years ago with my two sisters and a few friends.”
Jamie Macumber, PHS Interact, three-year relayer: “I want to make a difference. I have friends and family who have been affected by cancer, and I relay for them! This is my first year as a team captain.”
Babette Mcgilvrey, Zoila’s Kids: “I had been involved years ago, when the Relay for Life of Gig Harbor first started, as a team captain. I lost my friend Janice Eherle to breast cancer 10 years ago. She and I had done Look Good Feel Better together. ... When my mom died in January of metastic colon cancer just five weeks after diagnosis, I called (event chair) Pam Massey and asked how I could get involved again. I am on the Team Development committee and formed a family team.”
Jenny Ervin, Team SuperFresh, second-year relayer: “Because I, and my co-captain McKenzie, have both watched our wonderful, amazing aunts suffer through every kind of cancer imaginable, and I never want anyone else to experience anything so terrible. We need a cure!”
Mckenzi Fosberg, Team SuperFresh, first-year relayer: “My co-captain and I have both had cancer surround our lives. My aunt KayDee is the reason I relay. I’ve also had a personal run-in with cancer. I want cancer gone, and I’ll walk until my legs fall of, if that’s what it takes.”
Miranda Bessex, Bad to the Bones, second-year relayer: “We were looking for a way to give back to our communities. When Relay came to our school, we were so excited to get a team together and participate.”
Sandra Mcatee, Rainier Pacific Bank, 10-year relayer: “To raise money for a cure and to save lives.”
Marjorie B. Anderson, St. John’s Episcopal Church, second-year relayer: “I’m walking for my mother, who had colon cancer, and my father, who had stomach cancer. I am a skin cancer survivor.”
Tony Bulleri, Rolling Harborstones, second-year relayer: “I walk for my father-in-law, who has prostate cancer. I also walk for those who will get cancer in the future.”
Jeannie Johnson, Franciscan Force, seven-year relayer: “I relay because of family and friends that are either fighting or have lost the battle against cancer.”
Bettilou Wilson, Franciscan Force, seven-year relayer: “I have had several family members who have been touched by cancer, including my mother. She survived, thankfully! However, I lost my favorite aunt and grandfather to cancer. I walk to help fund a cure and to give hope.”
Bonita Redin, Walk N’ Roll All Night, four-year relayer: “Got involved with relay because my mom got cancer. Then when she passed away last year, I decided to have my own team. This will be my second year with my own team.”
Jean Smith, Ryan, Jorgensen & Limoli, P.S., 10-year relayer: “I’ve been involved for 10 years in both North Carolina and now in Washington. We relay to honor numerous family members lost to cancer. We relay to honor two co-workers currently dealing with cancer, and we want to help others in our community struggling with cancer.”
Claudia Yeaman, Artondale Elementary, nine-year relayer: “I became involved because my friends and family have had cancer. I chose relay so that I would have an opportunity to stand and fight for everyone — including future generations.”
Cami Ormsby, Hike 4 Mike, second-year relayer: “I started a team called Hike 4 Mike in honor of a dear friend who was battling Stage 4 adenocarcinoma of the lungs. Mike was an amazing man! He had a beautiful wife and three little girls that adored him. His youngest was just 4 when he passed away. I felt so helpless not being able to do anything for him. I began the relay team to show him how important he was to me. It helped me feel like I was doing what I could to make a difference.”
Rosemarie L. Hirsch, Curvaceous Cruisers (Curves), six-year relayer: “My husband died of cancer. My grandmother died of cancer. My mother-in-law survived.”
Sue Evans, Alexei Salon, 14-year relayer, 33-year uterin cancer survivor and three-year chronic myelogenous leukemia survivor: “I have many friends and family who have passed away from cancer. Luckily, I have friends and family who are survivors, too. I relay to raise funds for research to find a cure.”
Betty J. Coons, St. John’s Episcopal, second-year relayer: “I have lost many friends and relatives to cancer. I have worked as an oncology nurse and also as a hospice volunteer.”