February 21, 2000
Relay for Life tracks down cost of a cure
By Carol Bogart
Staff Writer
"It's like we have a big, ugly bear at the top of the hill and we're just waiting for that bugger to charge down at us. We don't have a cure" for cancer, says Mercy Hospital lab director Dave Hupp. "Cancer research gives us a fence -- obstacles -- things to help you stay ahead of that bear ... a rope to get over that stream."
Hupp emphasizes that early detection is the key to beating cancer. He says, "We see it in the lab. (Thirty years ago), if someone was diagnosed with leukemia, you were talking about months. But things have changed so much. We've just come so far. (Cancer strikes) the very young. The elderly. We all face that same 'bear.' "
Hupp and Advertiser-Tribune publisher Dave Frisch are co-chairmen of the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life event this year. Frisch says, "I have a number of family members that have cancer. This was something I wanted to get involved in because of that. I think we're going to find a cure. And that's why I got involved with Relay for Life."
Hupp would like to see more local involvement. He says, "We had 18 teams last year and served 300 dinners. It was a nice start. We're trying to build on that." He notes that 80 percent of the work done on last year's relay "was volunteers from Fostoria."
Like Frisch, Hupp has been touched by cancer in his immediate family. Hupp's mother experienced breast cancer. Cancer killed his stepfather. An uncle Hupp describes as "a surrogate father" died of lung cancer &emdash; 10 years after he quit smoking.
Frisch says, "It's a very serious disease, but the Relay for Life is a fun way to raise money (for cancer research)." Children and adults with cancer in Seneca County benefit from assorted programs sponsored by the American Cancer Society. Examples include: summer camp for kids with cancer, visits to newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients from Reach to Recovery volunteers, transportation to medical appointments through ACS's Road to Recovery program and reimbursement for wigs.
Breast cancer patient Delores Weinandy remembers getting her first wig through ACS when she lost her hair during chemotherapy treatments. ACS, she says, helped out paying for prescriptions, and "when I was doing my bone marrow transplant at Arthur James (cancer center, Columbus), once a month you turned in your mileage and (the society) would pay 10 cents a mile."
Funding for such help as well as cancer research is aided, in part, through ACS's annual Relay for Life. Frisch says, "The goal this year is $44,000. Last year we had 18 teams and we'd like to have 30 teams this year. If we have more than 40 teams, that would be great.
"Wyandot County saw similar growth between their first and second Relay for Life. Wyandot County's population is smaller than Seneca County's."
In Tiffin this year, the relay begins at 6 p.m. May 19 and concludes at 10 a.m. May 20. Those who participate can dedicate their walk to a friend or relative who has died of cancer or to a loved survivor.
Cancer survivors are encouraged to participate in a ceremonial lap around the track at Heidelberg College as part of Relay for Life's opening ceremonies. Each relay team will consist of 8 to 15 runners or walkers. They will compete against each other to raise the most money and travel the most laps around the track. One team member at a time circles the track for 30 minutes.
Organizers say a community party atmosphere is created by team members camping out, enjoying entertainment, food, games and camaraderie. Hupp describes it as a "family, community, friends event." Frisch recalls participating last year. "I was involved with the relay last year as a team member. I was involved with the relay in North Dakota as an organizer. It's a fun event. (Last year in Tiffin), my wife and my kids and I got involved through our church. We had a member of the church who brought his motor home and that was how we camped." A team registration fee of $10 per person is charged and each team member is asked to raise a minimum of $100 from donors before the event.
Since 1946, the AMC has raised more than $2 billion for cancer research, spending about $100 million each year. The society is ranked one of the top 10 best-managed nonprofit groups by U.S. News and World Report.
According to the society, every known technique for treating cancer was discovered by AMS researchers. Every known method of detecting cancer (ultrasound, MRIs, CAT scans, mammograms and more) was discovered by researchers who received American Cancer Society research grants.
Breast cancer patient Charlotte Seifert says, although she hasn't taken advantage of financial help available through the society, she has called ACS's toll-free number and "gotten updates on research and clinical trials. Anything I've ever asked for, they've been very receptive and helpful." Most families will be touched by cancer. The disease strikes one of every three Americans.
Of the relay, Frisch says, "Get involved. Have fun. It's a short commitment. You can be there for part of it or all of it. It's just going to be a lot of fun."
Teams forming now
Teams are forming now and more are needed. As event co-sponsor Dave Frisch says, "Without teams there won't be a relay." Those interested in forming a team can contact Frisch at 448-3200, co-chair Dave Hupp at 448-7662 or ACS, toll-free, at (888) 227-6446.
For cancer info, call ACS at (800) ACS-2345 or access the society on the Web at www.cancer.org