CANCER SURVIVORS and caregivers prepare for the Survivors Lap at  last Friday’s 2019 Wakefield Relay For Life at the Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational School athletic field.
(Mark Sardella Photo)

Published in the June 17, 2019 edition.

By MARK SARDELLA

WAKEFIELD — Those attending last weekend’s Wakefield Relay For Life had an extra reason to celebrate. It was the local Relay’s 20th anniversary as a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.

Relay For Life events are staffed and coordinated by volunteers in more than 5,200 communities and 20 countries who give of their time and effort to take action against cancer. It is the American Cancer Society’s signature fundraising event.

Wakefield event co-chair Elaine Silva served as master of ceremonies for the opening ceremonies, which got underway at 6 p.m. on Friday under sunny but windy conditions at the Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational School track on Hemlock Road.

Silva introduced Francesca Gervasi of the American Cancer Society who reminded attendees that the money they raise goes not just to fund research for breakthrough lifesaving treatments. It also supports direct care services for cancer patients and their families in the local community.

“What you’re doing here is saving lives every day,” she said.

Town Councilor Paul DiNocco welcomed organizers and participants on behalf of the town.

“My involvement started 13 years ago with my wife being diagnosed with breast cancer,” DiNocco said. He recalled how his wife “kicked cancer’s butt the first time. In 2016, Paula again kicked cancer’s butt.”

In the meantime, DiNocco said, he and Paula lost a niece in 2010 to leukemia and now Paula’s brother is battling pancreatic cancer.

“We need to do something now,” DiNocco said. “Let’s continue to kick cancer’s butt.”

Silva introduced featured speaker Janet Kelliher, a two-time cancer survivor who has served the Wakefield Relay for Life in several leadership roles.

Kelliher spoke of her own battle with cancer. Five years ago, Kelliher shared, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer.

She described her emotional rollercoaster and the pressure she felt to decide on the best choice of treatment options presented to her by the doctors at Dana Farber. Then one day she sat down with a neighbor who was a breast cancer survivor. The woman advised Kelliher to let go and put her faith in the doctors.

She went through 12 weeks of chemo followed by surgery. After that came another eight weeks of intense chemo followed by 30 rounds of daily radiation. Then there was another seven weeks of treatment with the immunotherapy drug Herceptin.

“I’ve learned a lot about myself,” Kelliher said, including “learning to let go and let my journey unfold the way it’s intended to. In order to let go, you have to have faith. In order to have faith, you have to believe that there’s more.”

The opening ceremony concluded with the lighting of the Flame of Hope by Bob Feeney and Janice Forster, two of the people who started the Wakefield Relay For Life 20 years ago.

Survivors and caregivers then assembled for the Survivors Lap as the Harborlight Show Chorus sang the National Anthem. Following the Survivors’ Lap, survivors and caregivers enjoyed a dinner under the big tent served by House Calls Catering of Wakefield.

A variety of activities were scheduled all night long, including movies, a police K9 demonstration, dance performances, races, scavenger hunts, a karate demonstration and Zumba classes, before Saturday morning’s 8 a.m. closing ceremonies.