Community Corner

Orangetown Relay for Life Participants Fight Cancer

Team Carolyn alone brought over 200 participants to the Central Avenue Field in Pearl River.

A young woman walked by the Orangetown American Cancer Society Relay For Life at the Central Avenue Field in Pearl River Friday.

She called out to Patty Flynn, captain of team Brotherly Love, so named because Flynn and her team were walking in honor of her brother, who she lost to cancer.

"She came ot the fence and said, 'Is your team still collecting?' I said sure," Flynn said. "She pulls out 30 dollars and says, 'Put this with your team.' I got all teary."

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The anonymous donor fit in perfectly with the large crowd that showed for the second annual Orangetown Relay for Life, which started at 7 p.m. Friday and continues until 8 a.m. today with the goal of honoring those whose lives have been touched by cancer and raising money to contribute to the American Cancer Society's efforts fight the disease.

"It’s really great to see a turnout like this," said Larry McKeever of Pearl River, one of the cancer survivors honored Friday. McKeever helped out with last year's event and since was diagnosed with cancer."I like to think by my grandchildren’s lifetime we will see this horrible disease defeated. I personally think  all it takes is money. It’s people like you that are willing to come out and throw a couple of bucks in are what it’s all about."

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Jeannette Dailey of Nyack was also honored Friday.

"Breast cancer is not a good thing, but you can survive it," Dailey said. "The people here donating is tremendous. It’s going to help us get a better cure. The one we have now is terrible. But my hair is back."

"This woman is fighting a heroic battle and she has done it with mroe courage than some of my former Marine buddies," said county legislator and event co-chairman John Murphy (R-Pearl River). "You are a brave woman. I know you're going to win your battle."

Ellen Condon, another survivor, got the ceremonies started by singing the National Anthem.

The Relay began with a survivor's walk, followed by Murphy asking the children in attendance to take to the track, which would have walkers on it all night.

"More power to them," Flynn said of the survivors. "It's so touching."

Flynn walked last year, but did not have her own team. She had lost her mother to cancer and her brother was undergoing treatment at the time.

"It's been one fight after another," Flynn said. "I wish I wasn't walking for my brother. It is such a bittersweet event.

"We have a good team. We have 28 members who are walking. We raised over $2,300."

Last year, Flynn was part of Team Carolyn, which honors the memory of eight-year-old Carolyn Sullivan, who passed away in 2009 after a five-month battle with a brain tumor. Team Carolyn was back this year with over 200 walkers, including Carolyn's parents, Pete and Jeanne Sullivan.

Blue Team Carolyn jerseys were everywhere all through the night.

"Look at all the kids," said Jeanne Sullivan, who is a cancer survivor. "All of Carolyn’s friends and classmates and teammates do it now. That’s really nice. It’s so touching. We are so thrilled.

"It doesn’t really surprise me. The same people have been there for us from the day she was diagnosed until today. It’s not shocking, but we appreciate it. It means a lot."

So much that the Sullivans started the Carolyn Sullivan Memorial Foundation, which raises funds to aid families with children suffering from life-threatening diseases.

"The town held us up," Pete Sullivan said.

"We thought, what would we have done without that assistance?" Jeanne Sullivan said. "Now we raise funds so when we hear of other children suffering illnesses to that degree, we offer the same to them."

The Sullivans understand why their daughter's story has touched so many people.

"Because she's a child, everybody thinks of their own children," Jeanne Sullivan said. "She touched a lot of lives. She was just a brave little girl."

The event also included activities for the children attendance.  The track was lined with Luminaria candles, lit to honor those who have been touched by cancer.

The list of pre-registered teams included the following (team captains in parentheses).

  • Auriemma's Pirate Striders (Frank Auriemma)
  • Brest Buddies and Friends (Anne Hogan)
  • Brotherly Love (Patricia Flynn)
  • Brownies 40125 (Caroline Reichert)
  • DA Office (Xiomara Lopez
  • Evan's Tiger Tracks (Lila Moren0)
  • Friends of Troy (Denis Troy)
  • Galaxy Gymnasti (Meagan Cohen)
  • Heffo's Army (Noel Heffernan)
  • Helen's Hope (Helen Wilson)
  • High Hopes (Sue Hlawatsch)
  • Jeannette Dailey
  • Memorial NYC (Carole Cass)
  • Nanuet Youth Against Cancer (Kerry Dolan)
  • North Rockland Marching Band (Scott Powers)
  • Nyack Hospital (Amy Massimo)
  • Nyack Rotary (Nick Del Pizzo)
  • OMM/WCFC - Kicking For A Cure (OMM/WCFC Soccer)
  • Park Ridge High School Interact (Ann Chambers)
  • Pearl River Cross Cuntry (Caitlin Lardaro)
  • Pearl River Football (Jeff Michael)
  • Pearl River Hook and Ladder Ladies Auxiliary (Colleen Maguire)
  • Pearl River United Methodist Church (Kathy Rose)
  • Pfizer Oncology Research Unit (Maureen Dougher)
  • Raising Hope (Nora Reilly)
  • Rockland County Nurses (Elizabeth Falco)
  • Saving Dawn (Justin Duffy)
  • TD Bank (Bonnie Werk)
  • Team Carolyn (Jeanne Sullivan)
  • Team Family (Riccardo Marino)
  • Team Hope (Ellen Huber)
  • Team Little Scoops (Michelle Violetto)
  • Team Mattchu (Grace Ferreira)
  • Team Nicole (Danielle Murray)
  • The MOB (Joan Bourke)
  • The Saloonatic's (Ciara McGinley)
  • Walking for Hope (Mary Lukens)
  • YMCA Youth & Government Team (Charles Maze)


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