Relay For Life 2012

FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2012

A special supplement to the AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

Mower Relays for a cure

Barbara Lewis lights a candle to place in a luminary during the 2011 Mower County Relay for Life. Lewis had luminaries for both family and friends, some who have survived their fight with cancer and others who have passed away. Herald file photo

By Kevin Coss kevin.coss@austindailyherald.com

Cheryl Retterath first got involved with Relay for Life in 1994 after her mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She’s been doing it ever since.

“Every year at the end, when I’m totally exhausted, I think, ‘I don’t know if I can do this again,’” she said.

But by the time the next year comes around, Retterath, who’s on the Relay committee, is looking forward to beating last year’s total. And with $1,800 raised from her efforts alone, the Aug. 45 Relay for Life is off to a promising start. The event runs from 3 p.m.

Saturday to 7:30 a.m.

Sunday at the Veterans Pavilion at Bandshell Community Park in Austin.

Retterath suffered from basil cell skin cancer two years ago. She had surgery, followed up with several exams afterward and ended up making it

through the disease.

“Mine was very shorttermed compared to some,” she said.

Before that, her husband was diagnosed with cancer in 2003, giving Retterath extra motivation to keep active in Relays.

So far, participation in the county’s upcoming events looks to be booming. Almost 200 people attended the Survivor’s Dinner, which was held last week at St. Augustine Catholic Church.

Financially, organizers are seeing the same enthusiasm.

“We are up from where we were a year ago at this time,” Retterath said of the total fundraising effort. She herself has already exceeded the general team goal, which is to raise $1,000.

“I’m very happy with that,” she said.

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Retterath RELAY FOR LIFE What: Mower County 2012 Relay for Life.

When: 3 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 4 (opening ceremony at 6 p.m.) through 7:30 a.m.

Sunday, Aug. 5.

Where: The Veterans Pavilion at Bandshell Community Park in Austin.

Why: To raise money for cancer research.

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AUGUST 3, 2012

RELAY FOR LIFE

AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

2012 Relay for Life schedule MAIN STAGE ENTERTAINMENT Opening Remarks — 3 p.m.

30’s - 40’s Movie and Show Tunes with Sarah Lysne, Suzanne Rymer, Susan Hayes and Jum Ruud — 3:15 p.m.

Live auction — 4:15 p.m.

Mayo Clinic Mobile Research Unit/ACS Cancer Action Network — 5:30 p.m.

Opening Ceremony — 6 p.m.

Jim King — 7 p.m.

Austin Big Band — 8 p.m.

Luminaria ceremony — At dusk

OTHER EVENTS Silent Auction in Veterans’ Pavilion — 3 to 8 p.m.

Children’s Games — 3 to 6 p.m.

Skinners Hill Water Slide — 3 to 6 p.m.

Live Auction on Main Stage — 4:15 to 5:30 p.m.

OPENING CEREMONY — 6 P.M. Masters of Ceremony: Rusty Dawkins and Melanie Bloom, KAAL-TV Opening prayer: Pastor Shari Mason Color Guard presentation: Pledge to Flag, Four th Degree Knights of Columbus National anthem: Sarah Lysne Welcome: Honorar y chairpersons Mike Simmons and Megan Tapp Southland drumline: Leads the sur vivor lap and balloon release Corporate recognition: Linda Baier, event chair Team recognition/lap Team photos: In pavilion

Honorary chair Patty Urlick and junior chair Anika Chesak lead the Survivor’s Walk for the 2011 Mower County Relay for Life. Herald file photo

Women get training to help fight cancer

By Misti Crane MCT Information Services

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Darlene remembers someone Matthews telling her to keep her breast cancer a secret when she learned of it 10 years ago.

The 58-year-old East Side woman didn’t listen and has been talking about cancer ever since.

“I needed to tell everybody. I needed everybody praying for me,” Matthews said.

Now, she wants more black women to speak up about the disease, to talk to other women about how cancer can be found early and to tell them how to find the best care and support.

That’s why Matthews joined more than 75 other central Ohio women, including several of her friends, yesterday to become a trained community health adviser. The effort is part of a multicity project supported by KeyBank and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

The plan is to train more than 500 advisers in 18 cities including Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Dayton and Toledo and for each of those advisers to counsel at least 100 women in the next year.

That could mean talking to a neighbor about the importance of mammography or going to chemotherapy with an anxious coworker.

The program is focusing on women -- many of them black -- who are uninsured or underinsured, have little money and have poor access to care.

“You will change people’s lives,” KeyBank’s Melissa Ingwersen told the group gathered at the Embassy Suites near the airport. “You’re going to become confidantes for these women when they most need help.”

Minority women, women without good medical care and those without insurance are 50 percent more likely to die of the disease, said Ingwersen,

president of KeyBank’s central Ohio district. The company donated $1 million for the project.

Matthews and her friends Sharon Bridges of Gahanna and Judy Cunningham of Worthington said there are several hurdles to better outcomes for black women.

Lack of insurance is a major problem and one that an individual adviser can’t fix.But she can help women find free care where it’s available and explain that earlier care is always better, they said. And she can keep talking about it, even when it’s uncomfortable.

“Until Darlene was diagnosed, I didn’t get involved with the fight,” said Cunningham, 53, whose mother had breast cancer but never spoke of it. “It took someone to have the courage to speak on it in our circle.

“I think after today, I’ll be equipped with some more skills.”

Bridges, 59, said it’s a challenge just to get a conversation about cancer started in many AfricanAmerican families.

“Nobody wants to talk about it,” she said, adding that it’s important to spread information to older black women, many of whom stop having mammXograms after they retire.

Steve Garlock, senior vice president of oncology services at OhioHealth, said more people will survive if fear is replaced by knowledge.

“It’s very frightening for a lot of these people,” he said. “It’s almost like, ‘There might be bad news there that I don’t want to hear.”“ The focus of the training was to help the advisers better understand the different forms of the disease and which treatments and resources are available to breast cancer patients, said Katie Carter, executive director of Komen Columbus.

Komen will follow up with the women, and the hope is that the community advocacy work will extend far beyond the first year, Carter said.

RELAY FOR LIFE

A special supplement to the AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2012

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A guide to Relay for Life 2012 The Luminary path directions: The Luminary will go clockwise following the sidewalk along Ninth Place SW, the walking path around the Veteransʼ Pavilion, Bandshell.

Parking at the bottom of Skinners Hill, Marcusen Park, handicap parking lot.

A shuttle is available for those unable to walk long distances. Watch for the shuttle stop sign near Marcusen Park.

Ninth Place SW will be closed to traffic

Pointers for protecting feet from skin cancer ARA Content

Walking on the beach, frolicking in the surf, participating in sports, strolling through a theme park while on vacation your feet will carry you through a lot of fun this summer. But can paying attention to them help you avoid the most common form of cancer in America?

Possibly, experts say.

Each year, more than 1 million Americans are diagnosed with skin cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Yet only 32 percent of Americans use sunscreen to protect themselves from the sun’s damaging rays, NCI says in its Cancer Trends Progress Report.

Even when sunscreen is applied, the feet are often neglected.

“While skin cancers typically appear on areas of sun-exposed skin like the face, arms and hands, they can also occur on areas that get much less sun, such as the feet,” says Dr. Joseph Caporusso, a podiatrist and president of the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA). “With flip-flops and sandals being common summer foot attire, more Americans than ever are exposing their feet to the sun’s potential harmful rays.”

Sun exposure, however, isn’t the whole story when it comes to skin cancers on the feet. More often, skin cancers of the feet can be linked to exposure to viruses or chemicals, chronic inflammation or irritation, or even inherited traits, according to APMA. “Unfortunately, the skin on our feet is often overlooked during routine medical checkups,” Caporusso notes. “Yet, foot health can be an indicator of overall health. It’s important for everyone to have their feet checked regularly by today’s podiatrist for any signs or symptoms of skin cancer.”

Balloons dot the sky after cancer survivors released them following the Survivor’s Walk at the 2011 Mower County Relay for Life.

Follow the next chapter Look to Mondayʼs Herald for coverage of the 2012 Mower County Relay for Life

APMA TIPS FOR PROTECTING YOUR FEET • Apply the same broadspectrum sunscreen you use on the rest of your body to your feet, including the tops, on and between the toes, and even the soles of your feet. Reapply every two hours when you’re out in the sun.

• Conduct regular self exams of your feet. Look for signs of problems, such as cracking or sores. Keep in mind that freckles and moles on the soles of the feet are very unusual.

• Be aware of the warning signs for malignant melanoma the most deadly type of skin cancer. This type of cancer may occur on the skin of the feet and on occasion, beneath a toenail. Learn the ABCDEs of melanoma: Asymmetrical lesions, Border irregularity, Color

variation, Diameter larger than a pencil eraser, and Evolving characteristics of any of the ABCD traits.

• Skin cancer of the feet can easily be mistaken for other, less serious problems. For example squamous cell carcinomas, the second-most-common type of skin cancer, may resemble a plantar wart, fungal infection, eczema, an ulcer or other common

dermatological condition.

• Skin cancers in the lower legs, ankles and feet may look very different from those that occur in the rest of the body. Podiatrists are uniquely qualified among medical professionals to treat lower extremities, so their knowledge and training can help patients detect both benign and malignant skin tumors early.

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RELAY FOR LIFE

FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2012

A special supplement to the AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

Survivors release their balloons after the Survivor’s Walk at the 2011 Mower County Relay for Life. Herald file photo

Relay: 20 teams take on cancer From Page 1 There are 20 teams participating in this year’s event, and while the teams can be any number of people, the average size is usually a little more than 10 people.

Some teams are families that have been affected by cancer, while others are a group who banded together in memory of a lost friend.

Others are work groups or different organizations that wanted to play a part.

While it’s too late to form any new teams at this point, people are still welcome to donate to the cause. Money raised can be turned in at the event, and luminaria can be purchased and dedicated either to someone who survived cancer or someone who did not.

“If they’re written in black, it means they’re not a survivor of cancer,” Retterath said.

For those who can’t make the event at all, there’s still an opportunity to raise money for the cause.

“Any funds raised during the whole month of August still count toward our monthly goal,” she said.

During Relay, there will also be a live auction and silent auction to raise money, plus a number of food vendors that will contribute.

“They’re all donating toward the cause,” Retterath said.

Activities such as games, a water slide and a dunk tank will also be included to help raise money.

“We’re so privileged because we have The Hormel Institute close at hand looking for cures for cancer,” she said.

“The Mayo Clinic is another big contributor, and the University of Minnesota also. We’re in a good area for research.”

Luminaries flicker along the walking path at the 2011 Mower County Relay for Life. Herald file photo

Tony Passe heads down the water slide on Skinner's Hill, part of the 2011 Mower County Relay for Life. Herald file photo

INCLUDE YOUR EVENT To publicize an event, call Matt Peterson at 507-434-2236 or email your information to newsclerk@ austindaily herald.com