SRU hosts Relay for Life event
SLIPPERY ROCK — Dedicated members of the American Cancer Society at Slippery Rock University invited family members who survived cancer to the club’s first Relay for Life since 2019 on Saturday.
With club members cheering them on through a rainstorm, three cancer survivors walked a survivor lap around the track at Old Thompson Field. Family members and caregivers then joined the survivors for another lap.
The event, which ended with the lighting of luminarias, was a fundraiser to support the American Cancer Society.
All the money raised through donations, entry fees and proceeds from a gift raffle are being donated, said Hanna Minor, co-president of the student club.
One of the survivors, Vickie Duber of Cleveland, said she attended to show support for her family, and is proud of her daughter, Angelina Giacomazza, who serves as the club’s survivorship leader.
Duber said she survived two bouts with skin cancer within a five-year period. She said another family member had colon cancer, and her grandmother died from cancer.
“I’m here to represent our whole family,” Duber said. “Angelina joined because it affected our family in so many ways. I’m so proud of my daughter for that.”
Giacomazza said she and the other members are trying to revive the club from scratch. No former members of the club are still students, she said.
Club adviser Jim Anthony, a math instructor, said the club nearly dissolved after the last relay in 2019 because of COVID-19 restrictions, but he is proud of the efforts of the new members.
“This is a small start,” Anthony said.
Chantel Spess of Dayton, Armstrong County, said she survived breast cancer, which she was diagnosed with in 2015, and she will be cancer-free for five years in May.
She said she came with other family members to support the event because her nephew, Shane Krizmanich, is among the organizers, and she planned to walk many laps to celebrate her recovery.
“I’m doing a lap for every year since I was diagnosed,” Spess said, adding that her mother, father, sister and brother-in-law joined her at the relay.
Her mother, Rosemarie Rupp, said her daughter survived a number of surgeries and chemotherapy, and she’s happy that she is doing well now.
Another relative, Carolyn Warr, of Kittanning, Armstrong County, said her breast cancer was detected during an annual mammogram examination, and she was diagnosed with cancer in February 2021.
Since then, she has endured chemotherapy, surgery and radiation treatment.
“It’s a tough experience to go through,” Warr said.
However, she said she feels fortunate that she received chemotherapy treatment before she had surgery because her doctor told her the chemotherapy dissipated the cancer.
“I’m blessed,” Warr said. Support from her family and faith helped her through, she added.
Her husband, Dustin, said it was a difficult time for the entire family, but he is happy his wife has recovered.
