Tag Archives: cancer

Light up the night

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There’s something pretty awe-inspiring about seeing hundreds of lighted luminary bags lining a track on a picture-perfect mid-June evening — especially when each of those bags contains the name of a person who has died from cancer or who beat the odds to live another day.

This Friday marks the 14th annual Relay For Life event in Nobles County. It is a time for us, as Relay team members, to celebrate cancer survivors, honor those now undergoing treatment and remember those who fought the fight.

Who can attend the Relay For Life? Anyone. You don’t need to be a cancer survivor. You don’t even need to know someone who has or had cancer.

A year ago, a newcomer to the Daily Globe Relay For Life team wasn’t quite sure what to expect about the Relay. She had anticipated it to be a somber event, but in reality the Relay is more of a celebration.

Granted, the Relay isn’t on par with bigger community festivals like last weekend’s Regatta or September’s King Turkey Day, but it does good things for the community, and more importantly, for its residents.

In 2009, the Nobles County Relay For Life raised more than $93,000 for the American Cancer Society to fund research, education and advocacy. Lest you think that money goes out of state and doesn’t help local people, here is an interesting statistic: In 2009, $6.9 million in grant funding for cancer research was awarded to Rochester and the University of Minnesota — more money than what was raised in all of the Relays conducted around the state last year.

The money we are raising is helping to save lives. It is that simple.

We raise money by selling luminaries and butterflies, seeking sponsorships from businesses and individuals across the county, collecting donations for the silent auction and, throughout the night of the Relay, selling food or other trinkets at our campsites to help meet our fundraising goal.

We’d love to be able to surpass last year’s record-setting Relay, and we’d love to see more people from the community come out and support this worthwhile cause.

Just to entice you, JBS/Local Union 1161 will be selling grilled pork chops on a stick throughout the evening as a fundraiser at its campsite; First State Bank Southwest will sell cupcakes and bead necklaces; Jennifer’s Family is selling cheesy turkey sandwiches, pop, water, glow jewelry and yo-yo water balloons; the Farley’s & Sathers team will offer walking tacos in the evening and rolls, coffee cake and juice in the morning; Sanford Regional Hospital Worthington’s team is selling hot dogs, chips and a beverage; the Daily Globe team is making fresh fruit cups to sell; Bonnie’s Walkers will have angel food cake and strawberries for sale; and Bedford Technology will sell necklaces and can coozies. All proceeds from each of the campsite fundraisers go to the American Cancer Society.

In addition to all of the food options, Jennifer’s Team will have a bounce house for children to play in, and the AOK Club is planning a Guitar Hero competition and then a movie or two on its big screen to help everyone stay awake overnight.

Team campsites, the Silent Auction and Smart Shop open to the public at 5 p.m. on Friday, and this year’s Relay For Life continues until 7 a.m. Saturday.

Please come and spend an hour, an evening or the overnight with us. Our theme this year is celebrating a world with more birthdays.

Lucky

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I hope you don’t mind if I pass along someone else’s story in my blog today.

Last night, during a Nobles County Relay for Life committee meeting, our American Cancer Society district communications person read the following story to our group.

I’d never heard it before, though I understand it has made the rounds via e-mail. I don’t know who wrote it, or how long ago it was written, but as a dog lover with a pretty pooch who often brings me gifts (dead snakes, toys, bones and more dead snakes), I felt I could relate at least a little bit to Mary and her canine companion Lucky.

A dog named Lucky

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named Lucky. Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit, they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably, someone would forget and something would come up missing.

Mary or Jim would go to Lucky’s toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky’s other favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box, and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.

It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease … in fact; she was just sure it was fatal.

She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her … what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary’s dog through and through.

If I die, Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won’t understand that I didn’t want to leave him! The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated, and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, whining and miserable.

Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn’t even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap.
Lucky stood watching Mary, but he didn’t come to her when she called. It made Mary sad, but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.

When Mary woke for a second, she couldn’t understand what was wrong. She couldn’t move her head, and her body felt heavy and hot. But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned! While she had slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his beloved mistress all his favorite things in life.

He had covered her with his love!

Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking farther and farther together every day. It’s been 12 years now, and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box, but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

Remember … live every day to the fullest. Each minute is a blessing from God. And never forget … the people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care for us.

If you see someone without a smile today, give her one of yours! Live simply. Love seriously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

Getting to know you

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A little more than a year ago my mom reconnected with one of her long-lost cousins, thanks to some sleuthing at the Minnesota Historical Society and a bit of online research on my home computer.

It started with an obituary we found on microfilm at the MHS, followed by a visit to Google and the online White Pages. Finally, an address and a couple of phone numbers were placed in my mom’s hands.

There were three sisters, and on a rainy spring day in 2009, Mom dialed the number and began talking with a man on the other end of the line. His name was Scott, the nephew of the woman my mom was trying to reach. They chatted for a while and she collected the phone number she was searching for … the long-lost cousin, we learned, spent part of the year in Wisconsin, the other part in the south.

As you can imagine, when the two women finally connected, they had lots to talk about … mostly catching up on family and reminiscing about farm life in Kandiyohi County. During that lengthy phone visit, Mom mentioned her conversation with Scott, and soon learned that kind man she’d spoken with on the phone was going through the battle of his life.

She learned that the Caring Bridge site on the Internet had a page dedicated to Scott, filled with family photos, journal entries and well wishes from people who signed his online guest book. On our first visit to the site, we discovered that Scott – this very distant cousin – was diagnosed with colon cancer in September 2005.

During the last year, Mom has asked about Scott’s page often. Not having a computer of her own, she relied on me to visit his Caring Bridge site and read her the latest entries from his journal. Sometimes she’d stop by my house and catch up on his news, and often, she’d walk away from the screen with a tear in her eye.

Isn’t it strange how personal, online stories about people we’ve never even met can make us feel … can make us feel like we know them?

I felt that way about Scott.

Here is this man, this father of three, who has endured chemotherapy and radiation, has agreed to be in a test-market group for new cancer treatments, who has had one setback after another, who has lived through more pain and suffering than any person should have to endure … and yet, through it all, remain so positive, so full of life, so appreciative for everything he has. I didn’t know him, but I wanted to know him.

Many times I’d scroll through his journal and wonder just how much more he could take. You may think such reading would be depressing, and you’re right, but his family always managed to look on the bright side of life. I found myself wishing I could be as strong as they are.

Life knocks me down sometimes, and when I think I’ve had enough, I think about people like Scott. Life, as hard as it can be, is better than the alternative.

Mom called me tonight … I happened to be on the computer, typing an e-mail to a couple of 4-H families.

"Have you checked Scott’s page lately?" she asked.

"Not since the last time," I replied, remembering that it had been about a week and a half since I’d last read his journal entries to her over the telephone.

Things were getting progressively worse, we knew. The doctors had said there was nothing more that could be done.

Still, when I logged onto Scott’s page tonight and saw the arrangements for his funeral, I hated to read the news to Mom. Though she never met Scott, she felt like she had a connection with him – thanks to a single phone conversation and those weekly readings on his Caring Bridge site.

Over the last year, we’ve shared in their triumphs and tribulations, their joy and their sorrow … all thanks to a social networking "keeping you connected" site on the World Wide Web.

Scott’s daughter posted a journal entry on Caring Bridge, telling of her father’s death. To give you just a glimpse of this inspiring family, I’ve included an excerpt here:

"There isn’t a way to describe the grief and sadness we are all feeling right now. Dad taught us so many lessons about love, life, and never giving up. He filled all of our hearts with love showing us what it really means to have strength and courage. I know deep down in my heart that he is in a better place; set free from all of the pain and suffering he never let show. He fought until the very end, always telling us, “it’ll all work out”. I know right now it doesn’t feel that way, but everything happens for a reason, and God blessed us with Dad for longer than was ever thought possible."

Join in the fight

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Do you know someone who has died of cancer? Do you know a cancer survivor, or someone going through cancer treatments now?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, we could sure use your help in the fight against cancer.

The Nobles County Relay for Life hosted its kick-off event Tuesday night in Worthington. Team packets were distributed, ideas were discussed and the date was announced for this year’s Relay for Life event at the Nobles County Fairgrounds in Worthington.

Several new changes are planned for this year’s Relay – changes we hope will encourage more people to come out and help the hundreds of survivors and team members Celebrate, Remember and Fight Back.

For starters, the Survivor’s Supper will not be the same night as the Relay this year. A special banquet is planned in their honor on June 15, at the American Reformed Church in Worthington. The evening event will recognize all who won the fight against cancer. Survivor T-shirts will also be distributed at this event.

Hosting the Survivor’s Supper a few days prior to the Nobles County Relay for Life on June 18 is hoped to give organizers an opportunity to be more involved in the actual events on the night of the Relay.

In the past, Relay volunteers have been so busy cleaning up and putting things away after the meal is served that they miss important Relay events like the butterfly release, the survivor recognition and the speakers.

This year, the Relay’s opening ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. on June 18, with closing ceremony planned for 7 a.m. June 19.

In 2009, Nobles County’s 21 Relay for Life teams raised nearly $93,200 for research and advocacy for the American Cancer Society. It was the highest fundraising year for Nobles County, and we’d sure like to surpass it this year.

We are still looking for more teams to get involved. Families, church groups, youth groups, small businesses, large businesses, friends … the team opportunities are endless.

If you would like more information on forming a team, contact Nobles County Relay for Life Chairperson Kim Lambert at 372-5305.

This year’s Relay for Life theme is “A World with more Birthdays.”

As the American Cancer Society’s slogan states, “We save lives and create more birthdays by helping you stay well, helping you get well, by finding cures and by fighting back.”

Celebrating a world with more birthdays

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It was in June of 2005 that I was sent to the Nobles County Fairgrounds to cover the annual American Cancer Society Relay for Life event for the Daily Globe.

I’d covered relays before in Redwood County, and had first learned of the event while my cousin’s little girl was battling cancer in the late 1990s.

Like so many people, I didn’t know much about the event and I didn’t feel compelled to get involved.

And then I met Toni Peterson.

At the Nobles County Relay for Life event in 2005, I interviewed Toni as she sat in the bleachers — a carnation in her hand and a cancer survivor ribbon attached to her shirt.

Toni was too weak to take her survivor walk around the track that night. She was in the midst of chemotherapy treatments and they were taking their toll.

So there we sat, talking about what the Relay for Life meant to her. She told me about her cancer, and when she was finished, we both were crying. I gave her a hug … something I can’t remember ever doing in the course of my job.

Toni got to me.

Less than six months later, Toni’s obituary appeared in this newspaper. It wasn’t until then that I learned she had a daughter … a daughter who was in my high school graduating class.

By the time the 2006 Nobles County Relay rolled around, I had forged a connection with the local Relay for Life (RFL) chairs to publicize the event, and in 2007, the Daily Globe was an official RFL team.

I served as co-chair of the team for the last three years, and have now stepped down, so to speak, in order to step up and be more involved on the county committee. Our team’s co-chairs, Cindy Ramert and Sheila Kluever, have each lost siblings to cancer.

You don’t have to know someone personally affected by cancer to become involved in Relay for Life. You just have to want to eliminate cancer.

Yes, it is as simple as that.

Last Friday and Saturday, I joined three of my fellow Nobles County Relay for Life county committee members at the first-ever American Cancer Society Midwest Division Leadership Summit. More than 600 people from Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota and Wisconsin gathered to hear from top medical personnel, celebrate RFL achievements and be inspired. We also met Minnesota native and ACS Relay for Life founder, Dr. Gordy Klatt.

One of the main objectives of Relay for Life is to raise money to help in the fight against cancer. We raise money through the sale of luminaries for our local Relay, by asking for donations from individuals, businesses and corporations, and by doing team fundraising events.

Here at the Daily Globe, we have raised money by selling walking tacos, soup or chili dogs over lunch hour from time to time; paying $1 to wear blue jeans on Fridays; having a Penny War between departments; and hosting a “Kiss the Pig” contest at the Nobles County Fair. This fall, a few of us even helped budding vintners with their grape harvest in exchange for a donation to our Relay team.

We have managed to take something as depressing as cancer and find fun ways to make money to “Fight Back.”

The money we are raising is helping to save lives.Since 1946, ACS has spent more than $3.4 billion on cancer research in the United States. The organization continues to fund research at a rate of approximately $130 million each year. Over the years, 44 researchers who received ACS funds have gone on to earn the Nobel Prize — the highest accolade in scientific achievement.

Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the ACS, announced at the Leadership Summit that, since 1991, more than half a million people have survived cancer thanks to cancer screenings, early detection and aggressive treatments. In that same time, the death rate for pediatric cancers has been cut in half.

“Half of the kids who died from cancer in 1970 would be cured because of the technology we have today,” Brawley said in his presentation.

The ACS recently unveiled its new slogan, and it was a recurring theme at the Leadership Summit last week … ACS is the official sponsor of birthdays. The 11 million cancer survivors around the world today are proof that cancer research is helping people to live longer.

After celebrating the birthdays of my niece and nephew just the other night, I for one can say that I’m proud to do my part to ensure all people have an opportunity to celebrate more birthdays.

A world with more birthdays … a world where cancer is scarce … wouldn’t that be wonderful?