Relay rallies support for ongoing cancer research
BY CHARLES W. KIM
Correspondent

CHARLES W. KIM Breast cancer survivor Patti Ferriola of Millstone Township walks around the track with Relay for Life Chairwoman Anita Pfefferkorn at New Egypt High School June 9.

More than 550 people on 51 teams walked around the New Egypt High School track over the weekend to support cancer survivors during the sixth annual American Cancer Society Relay for Life.

"Cancer never sleeps, work on a cure never sleeps," event Chairwoman Anita Pfefferkorn said. "We will not rest until there is a cure."

The annual survivor celebration at New Egypt High School is one of 5,000 nationwide and 12 held in Monmouth and Ocean counties, said American Cancer Society Director of Special Events for South Jersey Paul DiNero.

Nationally, the relay started in Tacoma, Wash., in 1985, and now takes place throughout the world, according to the society.

The symbolic walk lasts almost 24 hours from noon Saturday to sunrise on Sunday with at least one team member circling the track at all times. While there is a $10 registration fee per person, the event is actually the end of the annual fundraising campaign, DiNero said.

During the six years of the New Egypt event, about $500,000 has been raised to battle the deadly disease, DiNero said.

Team members donned themed shirts and made personalized memorial candle bags to line the track, remembering those who lost their battle with cancer.

"It is very personal" for those participating, said Pfefferkorn, who lost her mother to the disease in 2000.

Pfefferkorn said many of the groups attend the relay every year, including a group called Topsy's Crew from neighboring Browns Mills in Burlington County. The group of family and friends walks to remember Greg "Topsy" Taylor, 36, who died in 2002, team member Dave Willits said.

"(Participating) is very emotional. It is really hard," Willits said. "We do this in memory of him. It is what cancer is really about, it can hit anyone."

Cancer survivors joined supporters during the walk to celebrate their struggles with the illness.

"I don't stop living," said breast cancer survivor Patti Ferriola, 44, of Millstone Township. "Life is too precious to throw in the towel."

Ferriola, a mother of four teenage children, was diagnosed with an early form of the disease two years ago and was successfully treated with radiation therapy.

"I was horrified (when I was diagnosed)," Ferriola said. "I didn't think I was a cancer candidate."

Ferriola, who was diagnosed with another early form of breast cancer two weeks ago, said awareness raised by events like the relay help save lives because educated victims can be treated early.

"Early detection saves lives," Ferriola said. "We need to get more people involved."

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States with more than one million new cases diagnosed each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control Internet Web site.