Aug 11, 2003 By Amanda Clegg 4 min read

Dorothy Shaffer, a cancer survivor for more than seven years, says the annual Fayette County American Cancer Society Relay for Life is an “uplifting” experience. “Everything is up,” she said. “Nothing is down.”

Shaffer of Uniontown is the 2003 relay’s ambassador. She has attended the event for the past five years and said it offers hope to cancer survivors and their supporters.

Barb Yalich, chairwoman of this year’s relay, agreed.

“Hope is the main thing,” she said. “We’re here to support cancer survivors, their families and those lost to cancer. It’s all about support any way you look at it.”

This year, more than 1,300 people attended the event, including 125 to 150 survivors, said Nancy Verderber, income development specialist for the American Cancer Society.

The event took place Saturday and Sunday at Laurel Highlands High School.

Fifty-six teams, which include members from churches, schools, businesses and families, participated. The theme for this year was “Pick-A-Decade.” Tent decorations ranged from a Harry Potter theme to a ’70s Flower Power theme.

More than 2,000 luminaries encircled the track.

“It filled the track and then some,” Verderber said.

Teams work to raise money throughout the year; nearly $200,000 was raised this year, Verderber said.

Honoring tradition, track teams from local high schools and junior high schools along with members of the Fayette County Striders ran the Torch of Hope from Bud Murphy’s restaurant in Connellsville to the Laurel Highlands stadium. Shelly Ralston, a cancer survivor, carried the torch into the stadium at 1 p.m. Sunday.

In addition to the traditional activities, this year’s relay offered a new way to celebrate – The Great Road to Recovery Race.

Participants brought a large, empty appliance box with the bottom cut out. The boxes were decorated to match the participant’s tent theme.

Verderber said the race was based on the Road to Recovery program that the American Cancer Society established to provide transportation for cancer patients.

“Volunteers drive patients to and from the doctor or cancer center for their treatment,” Verderber explained.

The Great Road to Recovery race imitated the program with a “patient” and a “driver” in each box. Decorated boxes included: The Hope Mobile, a Love Bug, a covered wagon and the U.S.S Survivor, the winner of the race.

On her own road to recovery, Shaffer was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1996. Although a CAT scan revealed she was cancer free six months ago, her doctor recommended she continue chemotherapy treatments, she said.

Shaffer’s children – Suzie Carothers, 44, of Wexford; Jamie Byers, 42, of St. Michaels, Md. and Tom Jr., 39, of Cranberry – attended the relay.

With the support of her family Shaffer has managed to keep a positive attitude.

“She’s been so strong throughout it all,” Byers said. “She makes us stronger.”

Carothers said the diagnosis was a “blessing in a way.”

“It made them slow down,” Carothers said of her parents. Shaffer’s husband, Tom, underwent open-heart surgery 10 months after her diagnosis. “It made them enjoy things in life and it made us appreciate them more.”

Shaffer said she feels supported not only from her family but from other survivors at the relay.

“It gives people a chance to see how many survivors there are,” she said. “It shows that you can fight cancer and maybe beat it.”

The winners of the tent decorating contest are as follows: most original, PennDOT; most elaborate, Adrian’s Market; most colorful, a tie between Wal-Mart and Value City, and most creative: Cassie and Lil’s Courage. A surprise award went to Calvary United Methodist Church for creativity and spirit, and an honorable mention went to the Heart and Soul of Southwest GI for its war memorabilia.