Joining the battle: Local teams raise money for research to cure cancer

Silverton resident Carolyn Cooley, 72, had no idea “what so ever” what she was getting herself into when her friend Jan Boardwell, 68, asked her to join her on an event that would keep them out past past midnight one night last summer.

“Jan needed a friend to go with her and she asked me to go, so I said yes,” Carolyn said. The pair participated in Woodburn’s Relay for Life.

“It was such an emotional event,” Carolyn said. “I had such a good time and it was just an awesome event to see the camaraderie and how people came together.”

This year, they formed a team – the Thrivers – and are joining in Silverton’s first Relay for Life July 18 – 19 at the Silverton High track.

As they prepare to raise money to find a cure for “that dam thing,” – which is how Jan refers to cancer – they are giddy with excitement. They held a pizza dinner in June, filled goody bags for cancer survivors and raised money to find a cure.

Jan and Carolyn are just two of the many community members involved in Silverton’s first effort. As of June 18, there were 27 teams signed up.

Kimberly Olson is the community relationship manager for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

“A town gets selected to host a Relay for Life depending on where people in that town are participating in other Relay for Life events,” Kimberly said. “We saw that people from the Silverton area were going to events in Woodburn, Molalla, Salem and that Silverton had enough interest to have its own event.”

She encourages others to join in the walk or provide support. It is free to attend.

“People can sign-up to walk and raise money on the day of the event,” Kimberly said. “(It’s) a community event. Everyone has a story of someone they know who has cancer. This is a chance to come and give support to people who are battling cancer and let them know they are not alone. It’s also a time to honor those who have lost their life.”

The money raised goes to funding research, helping patients and more, Kimberly said. One example, she added, are the three researchers at the University of Oregon and at several at Oregon Health Sciences University. They receive funds from the program each year.

At a recent Relay for Life meeting, team captains shared how cancer has had an impact on their life. Several agreed to share their story with Our Town readers.

Life goes on 

A science teacher at Mark Twain Middle School, Daniel Jamsa spends one day sharing his cancer story with his students.

He does this to help students demystify cancer and “to connect better with them personally since they all have trials and many of them specifically have been touched by cancer.”

He was diagnosed on April 15, 2009.

“I just tell my story. Diagnosis. The shock. Treatment. Insurance stuff. The scary, and in retrospect amusing moments in the hospital. How you can have cancer and life goes on. Then many of my students tell me their story in letters. We are not alone.”

During the relay he is walking with his family. He knows how important research has been to him. Daniel was taking a drug that worked until the “myeloma adapted and it no longer became effective.” He then had a transplant – which he calls “the Big Gun.”

“I have been cancer free up until recently without drugs since I had the transplant – four years,” Daniel said. “So now I am going to start that drug again. But there are now two to three other drugs out there that I can turn to when the first drug loses its potency.  So I would say research has given me more options and more hope for a longer and higher quality life. I guess it is a promise of a longer life although who knows what the future holds.”

Too many team name choices

Lyndsay Huebsch said she could have named her team after several people, some  battling now, some who have died from cancer.

“Cancer affects more people than I can imagine. My mother-in-law died two months after our wedding from it. My father-in-law is going through it now. I am doing this for them and for everyone else who has been impacted by cancer.”

The team name is Kylie’s Krusaders. Kylie is the 2-year-old daughter of Lyndsay’s friend Bree Rowand. The toddler is fighting stage four high-risk neuroblastoma. Kylie’s story is shared on a Facebook  Prayers for Kylie, God’s little warrior.

Lyndsay said she has been amazed how open and honest her friend has been about her daughter’s battle – writing about the horrible days as well as the priceless moments.

“Bree has written about her daughter to raise people’s awareness of cancer,” Lyndsay said. “I hope by participating in Relay for Life I am helping to raise awareness of cancer being more than something that happens to someone else.

“Walking through the night is a little thing to endure to show my support for all the people who are fighting cancer and what they endure each day.”

The surprise diagnosis

Jill Brueckner was surprised she failed her mammogram last September. She had the exam before.

“There is no history of breast cancer in my family so I was shocked I had been diagnosed with it,” Jill, 54, said. “The cancer had spread like a cobweb to six out of 16 lymph nodes.”

She finished chemotherapy in March and started radiation in June which she will finish Aug. 1.

“If you have to have breast cancer, I have the good kind,” Jill said. “There is a 98 percent cure rate.”

What has helped her endure the hellish fight is her family, friends and church members at Immanuel Lutheran. People have sent her cards and notes – something she treasures. When she was undergoing chemo, friends delivered meals to her home. She’s honest about what she has endured. She was in the hospital for more than a week during her chemo treatment.

“It was a struggle, she said. “The hardest struggle of my life and I almost didn’t make it a couple times.”

Chemo, she said, took everything out of her. Because her immune system was stripped, she couldn’t be around people.

“I thought when they gave you the chemo cocktail, it was all at once,” she said. “It was actually given one at a time. One dose was so toxic that the nurses had to wear hazmat suits.”

By being open about her journey and sharing her burden, she has discovered it lightens the load.

Her mom, Jeanette Olafson, convinced her to form the Brueckner Team, which will have more than a dozen members.

“I had heard of Relay for Life before and kind of knew what went on. I thought you just had to walk around the track all night,” Jill said. “I didn’t realize how much planning goes into the event.”

Humor allows her to laugh about losing eight of her 10 toenails due to the treatment, and other incidents. Her faith keeps her believing and her friends and family give her strength, she said.

“I wouldn’t wish cancer on my worst enemy,” she said. “It’s been a battle, but cancer is survivable. I am blessed to have amazing support and the notes and encouragement I have gotten have been powerful to me.”

Butterflies for the cause

Sitting on a wooden bench by O’Brien’s in  Silverton, Carolyn crochets butterflies as she talks about why she had dedicated her time to raising money for the American Cancer Society. The butterflies allow her to capture people’s attention and give her a segue to talk about Relay for Life. From June 1 to June 23, Cooley has raised $589 for her team. She says many people walk by the table, not even acknowledging her.

She’s OK with that. It’s stories like the little boy that inspire her.

“His mother was digging in her purse for change when the little boy – he must have been 3 or 4 years old – asked me if he could donate his two rocks for a butterfly,” she said. “One of the rocks had lots of holes in it and he told me it was a meteor. He took just one butterfly and when I asked him if I could give one rock back because he only got one butterfly he was so excited. Off he went with his meteor and his butterfly.”

Facing the third wave

Carolyn’s friend Jan is not going to let that “damn” thing defeat her. She’s determined to do whatever she can to help raise money so a cure can be found.

She’s participating on two teams – one in Woodburn, the other in Silverton.

Jan, 68, is battling cancer for the third time. With each encounter, she’s found ways to handle it with grace and humor.

“There are lots of reasons to get rid of this damn thing,” she said. “We really need to find a cure.”

In 1985, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Following treatment she managed to stay well until last year when she was diagnosed with uterine cancer.

“The doctors took care of that, but cancer showed up again this year,” she said. “We don’t know what we are dealing with yet this time. I will get through it.”

Relay for Life helps because it is built on hope and faith. “We have to do something. Doing nothing isn’t a choice,” Jan said.

There’s no excuse, she said, for feeling sorry for herself, especially when she sees the children with bald heads.

“Relay for Life let’s you know you are not alone in this battle,” she said. “There are so many success stories and that’s what we celebrate.

She encourages others who have been diagnosed to continue to live their life.

“There is hope and we are making tremendous progress. One day we will have a cure. I feel most certain about it,” Jan said. “The reason I named my team Thrivers is because survivors doesn’t quite sum it up. We are not just survivors, we are thrivers. It is not enough just to survive, you need to thrive.”