Hope rises anew as cancer fighters back on track

 

The return to the track for the Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro was a hopeful, inspiring moment on Saturday evening as about 50 survivors and about 200 people helped make the drive-thru and walk-the-track event a success. After being forced to hold the relay virtually last year, it was pure joy to have this very important fundraiser for the American Cancer Society back on the track at Norton High School. It was especially moving to see the luminaria --- candles lit in honor of cancer survivors or in memory of cancer victims --- back on the track, and the rain held off until three minutes before the three-hour event was set to conclude. We raised more than $54,000 so far, and the fight against cancer will continue on Saturday evening, June 26 at the Balfour Riverwalk Park in downtown Attleboro, when the relay, in partnership with the Attleboro Public Library, holds Slam Cancer, a celebration of the poetry-essay event that was held in April. Many of the authors are scheduled to appear to read their works. For more information on last Saturday night’s relay (held June 19), and on the upcoming event, read this story that appeared in the June 21 edition of The Sun Chronicle (and the link with this story), and then see the link to the Attleboro Double ACS video on the Slam Cancer event (click on the link below), LINK TO DOUBLE ACS SLAM CANCER VIDEO:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JPsG3kfTpI     THE LINK TO THE RELAY FOR LIFE COVERAGE STORY FROM June 19 (in Sun Chronicle June 20): https://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/return-of-in-person-relay-for-life-in-norton-raises-spirits/article_3ceab899-8bb6-5c76-bfb9-8921b6e0b813.html BY LARRY KESSLER FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE “This is about  hope.” NORTON --- North Attleboro’s Carol Hood made that observation as she was walking off the Norton High School track during Saturday evening’s scaled-down version of the 23rd annual Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society that was back in person after going virtually last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Hood, like many of the nearly 200 people at the three-hour event, knows a thing or two about hope. “I lost my daughter to breast cancer and my husband to colon cancer a year apart (2016-2017). I never miss it. It’s a wonderful thing. There’s still no cure (for cancer), but it keeps people alive,” she said of such fundraisers. Hope, as Hood noted, is a byproduct of the relay, and it could be seen everywhere you looked, but especially on the track, where the luminaria --- candles illuminated with glow sticks in memory of cancer victims or in honor of survivors --- were back in their rightful place after being displayed virtually last year. Hope could also be found in the 50 survivors and their loved ones, who were treated to complimentary boxed dinners, courtesy of Waters Church in North Attleboro in partnership with Chick-Fil-A. And hope is ultimately what pushed the organizers to put on Saturday’s event, which was deemed a success by Brittney Toth, the American Cancer Society’s senior development manager and liaison to the local relay committee. “It was a sight to see over 200 people drive through the Relay For Life of Greater Attleboro and then take to the track to walk some laps. This year’s event was short and sweet due to restrictions, but it was still inspiring and moving,” she said.

The survivors --- who near the end of the evening were honored with a lap around the track that included a performance by Colonial Pipers Bagpipe Band members Donna Lucas and Emily Rivard --- provided much of that inspiration, and they were grateful to be back on the track.
Especially glad was Mary Churchill, 62, of Attleboro. Although the event was her first relay, she said she’s been fighting cancer for about 15 years through such fundraisers as the three-day Avon, Gloria Jemma and Susan B. Komen breast cancer walks. She did that because her sister is a cancer survivor, but the disease hit home for her last year. She was diagnosed with breast cancer just before the COVID-19 lockdown, on Feb. 25, 2020, and was operated on April 1, 2020.
Churchill, who was walking the track with her son Brendan, 29, also of Attleboro, noted the irony of her situation. “I started (fighting cancer) 15 years ago, and now it’s for me,” she said.
Another survivor, Lisa-Jo Mitchell of North Attleboro, is living proof of the urgent need for cancer screenings --- something the cancer society said fell sharply last year due to the pandemic, which resulted in scores of people being diagnosed with cancers in more advanced stages.
“I always schedule a screening on Valentine’s Day as a gift to myself and that’s how I found out” about her breast cancer diagnosis in 2019.
She said she’s been free of cancer since last September and was walking the track with her daughter, Krista-Anne Goodwin, 35, and her friend Mary-Beth Rubyck, 55, of Attleboro, who’s been doing the relay for 16 years as a member of the Fighting Footsteps team.
Mitchell said screenings are particularly important to her and her daughter because they both carry Lynch Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that raises people’s risk factors for certain cancers.
For Pat Knox of Attleboro, a retired Attleboro school administrator and a longtime relay participant with the Alpha Delta Kappa Epsilon team, it was meaningful to be on the track again.
“At least we can be outdoors and together. It will be wonderful when we can camp out like we used to,” she said, looking ahead to the relay returning to its pre-pandemic form in 2022.
Knox’s feelings were echoed by Ellen Martins, a five-year breast cancer survivor from Norton. “Just to be able to get back out and to enjoy this perfect night” will be great. “I’m looking forward to seeing the luminaria,” said Martins, 56.
One survivor, Jennella Porter, 69, was surrounded by supporters as she was wheeled around the track. The retired Studley Elementary School principal is still recovering from anal and rectal cancer, but her spirits were lifted by being with her friends and husband.
The relay drew 122 participants and 22 teams, who raised $54,000 despite the still-recovering economy.
“The volunteers and teams did not let the pandemic stop them raising over $50,000 and still working toward their goal of $60,000,” Toth said. “Next year, we will be back in full force and ready to go big.”
Although there wasn’t a formal opening ceremony, two political leaders, Attleboro Mayor Paul Heroux and state Rep. Jim Hawkins, D-Attleboro, attended, and music was provided by Attleboro area disc jockey Nate Adams.
Fundraising, which will continue through July 30, may grow this Saturday, when the relay holds its second in-person event, called Slam Cancer, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Balfour Riverwalk Park. It will celebrate the poetry-essay writing event that the relay held in April in partnership with the Attleboro Public Library. Many of the authors will read their original works about how cancer has affected them.
Larry Kessler can be reached at larrythek65@gmail.com.