Monday, Jun. 23, 2008

Relay participants endure heat, rain to raise money to fight cancer

Walkers kept the pace despite a high temperature of 107 Saturday

Holding a cane in one hand and the hand of her 9-year-old daughter in the other, Heidy Banghart walked with determination around the track at Modesto's Johansen High School early Sunday during the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life.

Banghart wore a purple hat and a purple T-shirt that had the word "SURVIVOR" in white capital letters on the back.

Banghart was one of hundreds of people who braved scorching, triple-digit heat -- as well as an unexpected rain shower -- to participate in the American Cancer Society fund-raiser.

It was one of two local Relay For Life events held over the weekend. The other was at Pitman High School in Turlock. Relay For Life is a 24-hour fund-raiser in which teams and individuals take turns walking around a track or path.

Kathy Robey, chairwoman of the Modesto relay, said that despite temperatures that rose to a blistering 107 degrees Saturday, the event was a big success. About 125 teams participated in the relay and raised $409,000, Robey said.

Organizers of the Turlock event could not be reached Sunday. According to its Web sites, 58 teams participated.

A cross-section of people -- young and old, men, women, children, cancer survivors, and those who've lost friends and loved ones to the disease -- were on hand for the event in Modesto.

At one point Saturday, clouds moved in and not only blocked the sun, but also dropped a bit of rain and cooled things off.

"It was crazy," Robey said. "We kept saying, 'Did we fall asleep and wake up on a different day?' "

Robey said there were several incidents Saturday in which people were overcome by the heat and treated for heat exhaustion.

Katie Kepler of Salida, part of a team from Doctors Medical Center, camped out at Johansen. She arrived at 7 a.m. Saturday and was still there after 8 a.m. Sunday. She and two others volunteered to walk the final lap Sunday morning for their team.

This year marked the first time Kepler, 46, participated in Relay For Life events. Last year, her husband, Tom, died of skin cancer. The couple were married 23 years.

As she made her way around the track Sunday, she wore Tom's wedding band on a chain around her neck. She also sported a ribbon-shaped henna tattoo with "Tom" inside it on her upper right arm.

Kepler held the relay's lit torch as she walked. The flame, she explained, honored those who "keep fighting the fight against cancer."

Survivor's laps increase

Chris Bank, 61, of Turlock celebrated her third relay. She completed three laps around the track this year, a marked increase from her first year. At the time, she had just completed radiation therapy as part of her breast cancer treatment.

"The people who got me through that time were so supportive," she said.

Irene Romero of Riverbank attended the Modesto relay with her three daughters: Stephanie, 16, Melissa, 11, and Jennifer, 5. All four walked the final lap of the event for their team.

"My co-worker is a cancer survivor," said Romero, who works for the Stanislaus County Office of Education.

Heidi and Ted Pefferman of Rocklin, northeast of Sacramento, held hands as they completed their final laps around the track Sunday morning. The couple, their daughters and other family members have participated in the relay for seven years.

"My sister Shelly passed away seven years ago, and that's when we started our team," said Heidi, a former Modestan who has family in the area. "We do this to honor Shelly, to remember who she was and to help raise money to find a cure."

Bee staff writer Donna Birch can be reached at dbirch@modbee.com or 578-2309.