Greene residents fight back against cancer
WAYNESBURG – Five years ago, Sherlyn Riggin tossed out requests for donations and was “obsessed,” she said, with her own needs. Then, her youngest brother, Ryan, was diagnosed with lung cancer. In 1998, her father had the same diagnosis. And, on May 18, 2000, Riggin’s 31st birthday, she found out her mother had breast cancer.
What followed, said the Carmichaels woman, were the toughest experiences of her life.
Her father and brother died, each within a year of the diagnoses. Her mother, Anita, survived after lengthy chemotherapy treatments put the cancer into remission.
“What my family went through and what I went through with them changed me. I promised myself I would do something every time I had the chance” Riggin said.
So, she happily joined a crowd of Greene County residents at the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life on Saturday, making laps around the track of Waynesburg Central High School to raise money for cancer prevention, research and programs.
Individual walkers and those part of one of the 41 groups who participated filled the track on the sunny day. A sea of purple T-shirts crowded the track, while several of the estimated 75 cancer survivors wore beige shirts to designate them as such.
Michael Kingston of Waynesburg wore such a shirt. Living five years free of colon cancer, the 43-year-old Kingston said he counts every day as a blessing.
“Events like these are an obligation for me. I got the chance to make a difference, and I am,” he said.
He had with him his son, Michael Jr., and two grandchildren, each of whom also made the walk. Kingston said he brought his granddaughters, ages 3 and 5, to the Relay for Life to start teaching them early that awareness is paramount.
“I want them to know what cancer can do. It’s important to me that they realize it’s not a word, it’s a reality,” said Kingston, who has been participating in Greene County’s relay since it started in 1998.
Riggin said she’s walked at the annual event three of the four years it’s been held.
“I missed last year’s relay to be with my mom. She was really sick from the treatments, and I didn’t want to leave her,” she said.
This year, she said, her mother wanted to come to the relay with her. A bad cold prevented Anita Riggin from joining her daughter, but Sherlyn said her mom insisted that she come.
“She told me to take her spirit with me,” said Riggin.
Joan Stewart, a breast cancer survivor, also participated in the walk. Happily, Stewart said she will celebrate three years being cancer free in July, and she is planning to have reconstructive surgery on her breasts.
Stewart has participated in the relay since it started in Greene County, and she said she will continue to do so as long as she’s able.
Like Riggin, Stewart said she’s seen the tragedies of cancer. Last August, Stewart lost her husband to lung, bone and liver cancers, and in February, she lost her sister to cancer as well.
Stewart said she feels lucky to be able to participate in the Relay for Life and is glad such events raise awareness.
Earlene Shifko, one of the co-chairmen of the relay, said 900 people are expected to fill the high school’s track during the 24 hours of the Relay for Life. The event will wrap up today at 10 a.m. with closing ceremonies at the track.
Shifko said organizers this year hope to raise $86,000, topping last year’s $76,125 total.
That goal was upped even more by cancer society chapter President Bill Hewitt, who hoped to hit the $100,000 mark, said Shifko.
“For a little rural community, we do wonderfully. We depend each year on the people and teams,” said Shifko, noting that since the Relay for Life’s start, organizers have never been disappointed with participation.
Each year, the groups who set up campsites on the track follow a theme. Several group’s followed this year’s theme, “Fairy Tales,” through the use of Snow White or Alice in Wonderland.
The local chapter of the Alliance of Bikers Aimed Toward Education sponsored the “Snow White and Seven Bikers” encampment, where they offered a chance for long-haired people to donate to the Locks of Love campaign.
The program uses real hair to construct wigs for cancer patients who have lost their own hair due to chemotherapy.
Kristen, a 14-year-old who donated 10 inches of her sandy blond hair, said she was glad to lose the locks it had taken her several years to grow. “People who have cancer might not live. The least I can do is give my hair,” she said.