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The honorary co-chairs of this year’s 27th annual American Cancer Society/United HealthCare 5K Family Run/Walk each have seen cancer from two sides — patient and caregiver.
Ray and Joyce White of Onalaska have been together for 48 years, and Joyce tackled cancer first. She was diagnosed with cervical cancer more than 40 years ago and beat “the Big C.”
Last fall, Ray found a lump on his neck, which turned out to be a secondary metastasis from a brain tumor. His chemotherapy treatment was complicated by his lack of an enzyme that metabolized one of the drugs, resulting in a extreme reaction to the drug, but he’s still keeping up the fight and will likely be on hand for the run/walk on Sunday, April 20.
The event is one of the biggest fundraisers for the local chapter of the American Red Cross. Last year’s event drew more than 1,600 participants and raised over $88,000 to support local programs of the American Cancer Society. This year, the goal is to top $90,000.
Teams have been getting pledges and organizing for months already, but there is still opportunity for latecomers to register the day of the event at the registration tent near the start-finish line at 2700 Midwest Drive.
A free children’s run for youths age 2-10 will kick things off at 11:30 a.m. All kids’ run participants will receive a prize.
Runners in the 5K will be timed using a chip system and must be signed in at the registration tent by 11:45 a.m. The 5K run/walk starts at noon.
Cost is $15 for people who register through April 19, $20 for those who register on the day of the event. The registration fee includes an event T-shirt.
Call 783-5000 for more information, or log onto the event Web site at
http://main.acsevents.org/mw_uhc.
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