From The Enterprise - Upper Cape Cod News and Information
Wild Weather No Damper At Relay For Life Fundraiser
By MARK A. BROWN
Jun 26, 2007
Even after the clouds moved in, bringing whipping winds and heavy downpours to Guv Fuller Field early Friday evening, the spirits of those participating in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life could not be dampened. The inclement weather that arrived at around 6 PM sent people scurrying for shelter inside the Gus Canty Community Center gymnasium. Wind gusts knocked over folding chairs and caused the dozens of tents set up at the field to billow.
Two hours later cooler but calmer air had settled in as the throng returned to the field to resume the event’s outdoor activities. They included the lighting of about 3,000 luminaria placed on the field’s bleachers, and a lap-walking marathon around the perimeter track that lasted until 8 Saturday morning.
In all, 30 teams with more than 350 walkers raised $50,000 through pledges for the relay walk, said Sharon M. Haddad of Nashawena Street, West Falmouth, who chaired the event. Her husband, Steven G. Haddad, underwent a stem cell transplant and is a survivor of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The money raised is put toward cancer research, education, advocacy, and local patient services, Ms. Haddad said. “Every year it rains, without fail,” she said. “But we won’t let that keep us from having a great time tonight.”
While walkers of all ages did laps around the track, others found plenty of alternative activities during the event. Some tossed Frisbees and footballs, others munched hot dogs and ice cream. Children played games and fashioned bead necklaces, while a gaggle of clowns roamed the field making balloon animals and coaxing giggles. One of the more entertaining activities took place on the gym stage as 14 people, mostly children, donated some of their hair to Locks for Love. The program helps provide wigs for patients experiencing hair loss from cancer treatments.
Pamela F. and Nelson A. (Sonny) Rapozo of Turner Road, East Falmouth, owners of Hot Locks Salon on North Falmouth Highway, were joined by stylists Lyz Lambert of Wareham and Corinne Silva of Sandwich, and salon manager Carol A. Silva of Falmouth, in donating haircuts for the event. The haircuts were originally slated to take place under a large outdoor tent on the field. Nine-year-old Vanessa T. Rizzitano was a bit nervous before she took her seat in front of Ms. Lambert for her first haircut in 18 months. Vanessa is the daughter of Carrie A. and James F. Rizzitano of Curley Boulevard, North Falmouth. Vanessa’s mother has been fighting breast cancer since 2003. She had a lumpectomy and radiation treatments that year and again in early 2005. They were followed by a double mastectomy and chemotherapy sessions, which began in late 2005 and continued into the following year. “When I started losing my hair, it was really hard on Vanessa,” Ms. Rizzitano said. “She decided she wanted us to get haircuts together. That was in December 2005.”Since then, Vanessa’s straight brunette locks had grown midway down her back, setting the stage for Friday’s haircut. As Ms. Lambert began squeezing her scissors, high-pitched cheers echoed through the gym. They got louder when Vanessa, now sporting shoulder-length strands, stood up holding a pair of foot-long hair bunches secured by rubber bands for donation.
Also getting a haircut Friday night was Abigail Chorches, 5, the daughter of Jason B. and Tracy M. Chorches of Nichols Road, Waquoit. “It’s her first haircut ever,” Ms. Chorches said as Abigail smiled shyly. “I’m not going to miss brushing it,” Ms. Chorches joked.
Relay for Life organizers managed to get through the opening ceremonies outdoors before foul weather arrived. Cancer survivor Paul E. Dussault of Quissett Avenue, Woods Hole, Ms. Haddad’s father, welcomed the hundreds of attendees and volunteers. After being diagnosed in 1987 with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Mr. Dussault underwent an experimental bone marrow transplant at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Alex C. Cvitan, 15, also spoke at the event, which marked the second anniversary of his remission from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Alex, the son of Brenda J. Cvitan of Cinroc Circle, East Falmouth, and Peter J. Cvitan of Cutter Road, North Falmouth, said his experiences as a cancer survivor have inspired him to pursue a career as an oncologist.
That set the stage for the lighting of the Relay for Life torch. Then, as the sky steadily darkened, about 75 people donning blue T-shirts, all cancer survivors, embarked on the ceremonial survivors’ lap around the track. They were led by Kristen McCosh of South Boston, a summer resident of Falmouth who was named Miss Wheelchair Massachusetts 2007 in April. Ms. McCosh, who was paralyzed by a spinal cord injury as a teenager, also addressed those gathered on the challenges of overcoming disabilities. She is writing a series of women’s fiction novels featuring disabled women as heroines, and will compete for the Miss Wheelchair America title in Bethesda, Maryland, in July.
© Copyright 2007 by The Enterprise - Upper Cape Cod News and Information
