Survivors share stories at Relay for Life

A light rain Saturday did not stop hundreds of people from turning out for the Relay for Life in Washington?s Central Park. The 27 relay teams all had tents which shielded them from the elements. The goal this year was to raise $150,000 for the American Cancer Society for cancer research.

The teams competed to win recognition in a variety of categories. Sandra Johnson announced the winners of the various categories that afternoon. The best campsite was given to Team Healthcare. The best spirit was awarded to Team Renoux. The Washington County Development Center Team won the honor of best storefront, and Team Hope was awarded the best theme.

Team Healthcare raised money at their campsite by selling squeezed lemonade and popcorn.

?We?re making lemonade with real lemons, just like at the State Fair,? said team member Heather Zieglowsky.

Zieglowsky said her team sold quite a few refreshments in between the passing rain clouds.

?If the sun would have been out, it would have been even better,? said Zieglowsky. ?We?re making the best of it.?

Zieglowsky arrived at the park at 9 a.m. to set up. It was raining then and continued to rain through the start of the Relay at noon.

The captain of Team Healthcare, Leslie Duval, remarked, ?We relay rain or shine because cancer affects you rain or shine.?

Duval was there on behalf of both Team Healthcare and Team Robert, named after her uncle Bob Blum of Wellman. Duval and her sister Ruchel Hiller started Team Robert seven years ago when they learned her uncle had contracted lung cancer.

The members of Team Robert raise money by collecting pop cans, which earned them $400 this year. Another source of funding came from Blum?s granddaughter Kaitlyn Redden. Redden raised $120 for Team Robert by selling baked goods and items at a garage sale.

Blum was in attendance Saturday. He has battled cancer on multiple occasions, beginning with lung cancer seven years ago.

?I thought I had bronchitis, but I found out it was lung cancer,? said Blum. ?A few years after that, I got skin cancer. This spring, I was diagnosed with cancer outside my lung. This is my third time through it.?

Blum has undergone chemotherapy and radiation for his cancer. One positive development that has come of his struggles with cancer is the friends he has made. A few years ago, two of the nurses at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics attended the Relay in Washington to support Blum.

?That was pretty cool,? said Blum. ?I got to walk with them during the caregivers lap. They are wonderful people.?

Team Wipeout?s booth featured a string of photographs around its tent. Some of the photos were of cancer victims. Other photos were of cancer survivors. Still others were of the victims? and survivors? caregivers.

Deb Tisor is a member of Team Wipeout and said her team has employed the picture-theme for many years.

?A lot of them are of family members,? said Tisor. ?We?ve always used them because we are very proud of who these people are and what they did.?

Tisor explained that many of her teammates have gotten to know each other, and each other?s connections to cancer, by bowling together.

?It?s a family of bowlers,? said Tisor. ?This is part of the healing process. We come together and we see the picture of the loved ones we?re missing. Everybody here at the Relay is on common ground.?

Natlie Wilkerson is another member of Team Wipeout. Wilkerson?s sister-in-law was diagnosed with cancer. From this personal connection Wilkerson discovered that chemotherapy and radiation patients have sensitive skin and that they find it uncomfortable to wear ?normal? clothing. Wilkerson wanted to do something to help them, so she developed her own line of special clothing and fabrics for people with sensitive skin. Her clothing is not just for cancer patients, either. Wilkerson said it is useful for victims of Hodgkin?s disease or ?anyone who needs tender care.?

Wilkerson said she is thankful for the Relay and the show of support for cancer patients.

?Even if you?ve got cancer that is survivable, that initial notice ?You have cancer? is a dark moment for many people,? said Wilkerson.

Team Wipeout member Sheryl White was there to remember her husband, who was lost to cancer in November. White drove all the way from Springfield, Mo., to attend the Relay. She and her husband owned the bowling alley in Washington for 11 years before moving to Springfield a few years ago. White said she made the trip because she still feels a strong connection to her bowling buddies in Washington.

Dixie Conrad was the captain of Team Hope, the winner of the best theme.

?Our theme is beating the odds of cancer,? said Conrad. ?We have a wheel of chance. We spin the wheel and if you land on ?Team Hope,? ?Remember,? ?Fight Back,? or ?Celebrate? you get a bigger prize.?

Conrad is a cancer survivor. She remembers walking in the first Relay 10 years ago and just one month later was diagnosed with lymphoma. She underwent six weeks of radiation, which killed the cancer. The very next year, she went to a planning meeting for the Relay, and was asked if she would be on the committee.

?I jumped in, and I?m so happy I did,? said Conrad. ?The first year, I was a team captain and I spoke as a survivor. That was very hard, very emotional. I had a lot of things going on with my family. I had every reason to live ? a daughter getting married, a grandchild on the way. The person who spoke before me lost his wife to cancer and it brought back so many memories of my treatment.?