Fighting cancer together
More than $60,000 raised at local Relay for Life
Her brown hair just beginning to grow back and proudly wearing a bright yellow cancer survivor t-shirt, Jessica Dunphy smiled often at the Relay for Life.
Last August, the 28-year-old substitute teacher in Pictou County had her world change, or at the very least, her perspective changed: the Seafoam resident learned she had breast cancer.
“No one ever expects to hear that word,” she said Saturday just prior to the relay, as she sat beside Gordon Henderson, her significant other of nine years.
“It took a long time for it to sink in. It just didn’t seem real,” Henderson said.
Determined to stay positive and priming for the fight in front of her, she thought often of her maternal grandmother, who had died of ovarian cancer before Dunphy was even born.
“You never think it’s going to happen to you and than one day you wake up, and it is,” she said.
“My mind went to all these places, where I could find strength.”
Dunphy underwent a bilateral
mastectomy and followed up with chemotherapy treatments, which she finished in February. Doctors have since declared her cancer-free and now she feels like she has a second chance at life.
“I don’t want to say that cancer is a blessing, but it opened my eyes – to never take the small things for granted. I feel humble to have been through this and to have come out the other side.”
Dunphy didn’t shy away when asked for an interview; it’s important for her to “be a face of
people who do have it, because it does happen,” she said, adding that those fighting cancer need to “embrace life, embrace every experience and focus on having a positive attitude, because that makes a big difference.”
More than 100 people took part in the 12th annual Relay for Life, walking around the manmade track at Glasgow Square on Saturday night from 6 p.m. until midnight, team members passing their batons from hand to hand.
“The whole point of the relay is to show that no one can fight cancer alone,” said co-chair Janine Linthorne.
All funds raised will be forwarded to the Nova Scotia branch of the Canadian Cancer Society.
As of Sunday morning, slightly more than $61,000 had been raised at the local level – in addition to corporate support from Radio for Relay and online donations continuing to be accepted for another month.
Jeana’s Girls, a team collecting donations in memory of Jeana English, brought in more than $25,000, the top fundraising team for the event.
“I just want to express how incredibly proud I am of the committee, teams, volunteers, sponsors, survivors and Pictou County,” said Susan KaiserMingo, district coordinator for the Canadian Cancer Society (Nova Scotia).
“Not only did we surpass our revenue goal, but the overwhelming support from
Pictou County feels like one big family and I am so very proud to live here with such outstanding people in this community.”