THROOP - National Cancer Survivors Day is truly a “Celebration of Life.”
Jill Connor / The Citizen
Jerry Halicy, of Scipio Center, a 16-year cancer survivor, speaks with Don Jayne, of Auburn, volunteer and five-year survivor, at the National Cancer Survivors Day at the Throop Firehouse on Sunday afternoon.
Jerry Halicy, of Scipio Center, a 16-year cancer survivor, speaks with Don Jayne, of Auburn, volunteer and five-year survivor, at the National Cancer Survivors Day at the Throop Firehouse on Sunday afternoon.
It's a celebration that goes back more than 20 years when Richard Bloch, co-founder of H&R Block, and his wife, Annette, held their first cancer survivor's day in Kansas City, Mo.
The idea quickly caught on in other communities around the country and the world with celebrations held in Europe and Asia on the first Sunday in June yearly.
Kathy Bennett, of Throop, along with Sue and Don Jayne, of Auburn, have worked for the past 20 years with a support group that meets monthly at Auburn Memorial Hospital called I Can Cope for those that are battling cancer.
From there a local Celebration of Life tradition began.
“We've been doing this for close to 10 years,” Bennett said. “This is held nationwide. It really is a celebration for those that are survivors and that are living with and battling cancer.”
Several dozen people gathered at the firehouse in Throop for the party. With food, music, raffles and door prizes, a truly festive atmosphere was created in the firehouse.
With advances in treatment and detection, more people are living with the disease.
“That is what this celebration is really all about,” Sue Jayne said. “More and more people are surviving and living with cancer every day. That is what this is about that people can live with cancer and face it and live and be here to be part of this celebration of their lives.”
Among those in attendance was Mike Villano, who 20 years ago was diagnosed with prostate cancer and has been battling the disease off and on ever since.
Villano said that throughout the 20 years, he has found the I Can Cope group to be an incredibly supportive place to go.
“I've been with Kathy and Sue ever since I first got sick,” Villano said. “We are all very supportive of each other. We can get together and we can talk about treatments and about what we are going through and let it all out and really talk about how we feel. Everyone is very insightful and very understanding. I'm going through this now with my dad. It is really a great group; we are all very close, like a family.”
The day is also a time not only to celebrate life, but also to recognize the incredible strength and will it takes to continue to battle something as difficult as cancer.
Since 1988, Bennett and Jayne have been presenting the Courage Award, to recognize these qualities and so much more in the group's members.
“We give this every year,” Bennett said. “It is for someone who has set an example and shown a great deal of strength and courage.”
This year's recipient was Winnie Delmar. Delmar was diagnosed 11 years ago with thyroid cancer.
Delmar said that after surgery to remove part of her thyroid, the cancer later returned in her lungs.
In July 2006, Delmar said her doctors told her that with the type of cancer she had, it was likely she may only have had about six months to live.
But nearly two years later, she is still here and still fighting away.
“It was on July 3rd,” Delmar said. “This year on July 3rd I'm going to have a big celebration.”
Like Villano, Delmar said she has found this group to be both empathetic and supportive. The award truly was an honor to Delmar, who said that she will always continue to fight.
“It is nice,” Delmar said. “It is a bit of a surprise, but it is really nice. You just have to keep going. I don't want to die and I think that I was put here to do more that I still have more to do. Family is very important and so are friends. I have some really close friends that keep me going. You don't ever want to let your friends down.”
The idea quickly caught on in other communities around the country and the world with celebrations held in Europe and Asia on the first Sunday in June yearly.
Kathy Bennett, of Throop, along with Sue and Don Jayne, of Auburn, have worked for the past 20 years with a support group that meets monthly at Auburn Memorial Hospital called I Can Cope for those that are battling cancer.
From there a local Celebration of Life tradition began.
“We've been doing this for close to 10 years,” Bennett said. “This is held nationwide. It really is a celebration for those that are survivors and that are living with and battling cancer.”
Several dozen people gathered at the firehouse in Throop for the party. With food, music, raffles and door prizes, a truly festive atmosphere was created in the firehouse.
With advances in treatment and detection, more people are living with the disease.
“That is what this celebration is really all about,” Sue Jayne said. “More and more people are surviving and living with cancer every day. That is what this is about that people can live with cancer and face it and live and be here to be part of this celebration of their lives.”
Among those in attendance was Mike Villano, who 20 years ago was diagnosed with prostate cancer and has been battling the disease off and on ever since.
Villano said that throughout the 20 years, he has found the I Can Cope group to be an incredibly supportive place to go.
“I've been with Kathy and Sue ever since I first got sick,” Villano said. “We are all very supportive of each other. We can get together and we can talk about treatments and about what we are going through and let it all out and really talk about how we feel. Everyone is very insightful and very understanding. I'm going through this now with my dad. It is really a great group; we are all very close, like a family.”
The day is also a time not only to celebrate life, but also to recognize the incredible strength and will it takes to continue to battle something as difficult as cancer.
Since 1988, Bennett and Jayne have been presenting the Courage Award, to recognize these qualities and so much more in the group's members.
“We give this every year,” Bennett said. “It is for someone who has set an example and shown a great deal of strength and courage.”
This year's recipient was Winnie Delmar. Delmar was diagnosed 11 years ago with thyroid cancer.
Delmar said that after surgery to remove part of her thyroid, the cancer later returned in her lungs.
In July 2006, Delmar said her doctors told her that with the type of cancer she had, it was likely she may only have had about six months to live.
But nearly two years later, she is still here and still fighting away.
“It was on July 3rd,” Delmar said. “This year on July 3rd I'm going to have a big celebration.”
Like Villano, Delmar said she has found this group to be both empathetic and supportive. The award truly was an honor to Delmar, who said that she will always continue to fight.
“It is nice,” Delmar said. “It is a bit of a surprise, but it is really nice. You just have to keep going. I don't want to die and I think that I was put here to do more that I still have more to do. Family is very important and so are friends. I have some really close friends that keep me going. You don't ever want to let your friends down.”
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