A spirit that won’t quit
Cancer survivor Ginger Wright is inviting the community to join her in a Run Wright This Way fundraiser.
Ginger Wright is a little tired. She’s been battling cancer since before Christmas and the treatments have taken their toll — physically, emotionally and financially.
But incredibly, she’s positive about her health and will participate in an upcoming 10k / 5k / 1-mile Health Walk in September. She hopes the community will join her.
“I was diagnosed with cancer the week before Christmas,” Ginger said. “It was Dec. 21, 2016. I had done a self breast exam and found a lump and immediately went to have it looked at and they found that it was cancer.”
Ginger was diagnosed with stage 3 form of an estrogenfed breast cancer. She was fortunate in being able to see a doctor so quickly and having the tests come back quickly.
“I was headed home and the doctor called and said turn around. I need to talk to you,” she said.
They needed to do a mastectomy and start chemotherapy immediately. Doctors had found a large mass in her breast but also satellite tumors all around it. Two days after Christmas, Ginger’s breast was removed. But it became a little more complicated. Doctors also found that she had Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. And she also had gallstones so she had to undergo gallbladder surgery before they could start chemo. The wife, mother and teacher was terrified. “You think you’re ok after the first treatment, then you start feeling terrible by the third or fourth one,” she said. “The past year has been the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through.”
Ginger, 43, said being mom to a then 15-year-old and a 12-year-old at meant that she pushed herself to get up and do all the things she would have if she wasn’t sick. She didn’t want them to be scared if they that she was unable to do live a normal life.
“I teach preschool at Rome First School,” she said. “I had treatment on Wednesdays then I’d go back to work on Thursdays. The third day after the treatment was the hardest. So on Fridays I’d stay home. I’d feel terrible on Friday and Saturday and start feeling better on Sundays.”
But sometimes she’d have to take days off because she was too sick and weak to even leave her bed. And on top of that, she was allergic to one of the main anti-nausea medications so she couldn’t keep food down.
Ginger endured three months of chemo. In June she got two weeks off treatment so her body could heal and recover. Then the radiation started. She got radiation treatments five days a week for six and a half weeks — 33 treatments.
“The hardest part of all this is the unknown,” she said. “I was terrified. But the radiation was quicker and easier than the chemo.”
At this point, Ginger’s ready to be done with it all. She’s sore and very red. But she’s only got a week of treatment left.
“I’ll finish right in time for school to start on [Aug.] 14th,” she said, gratefully.
She’s clear of breast cancer. Her last scan, in May, showed that. And the lymphoma did respond positively to the chemo so that’s good news as well. Ginger will still need regular scans and blood work but another procedure in the fall will hopefully be all she needs. And at some point she’ll begin the reconstruction of her breast.
Crystal Stewart of Wright Athletic Development, a gym owned by Ginger’s husband, said she and other employees found out about Ginger’s fight as did the gym’s clients.
“People wanted to know how they could help,” Crystal said. “We all wanted to help the family and we know that cancer treatments and hospital bills can be very expensive so we wanted to put on a fundraising event, Run Wright This Way.”
But Ginger was adamant that she didn’t want all the attention. And she didn’t think she deserved all the money from a fundraiser, either.
So they compromised. Crystal organized a 5k, 10k and 1-mile Health Walk for Saturday, Sept. 2 with proceeds also benefiting two local organizations. The event will is open to people of all ages and fitness levels. The races will be timed but people can also participate just to complete the distances.
“Ginger is very unselfish and wanted to share whatever money we made,” Crystal said. “So proceeds will go to Cancer Navigators and Summit Quest as well.”
Crystal said those two organizations reached out during Ginger’s journey and Ginger insisted that they also receive some of the funds raised. Cancer Navigators guides cancer patients and their families through their journey and Summit Quest provides resources and outdoor activities for children and their families affected by the disease.
All events for Run Wright This Way will begin at Wright Athletic Development, 215 North 4th Avenue, on Sept. 2. The 10k will begin at 7:30 a.m., the 5k at 8 a.m. and the 1-mile Health Walk at 8:30 a.m. All events will start and finish at the same place. There will be t-shirts and swag bags for all participants.
The 10k and 5k courses will use the Heritage Trail system and the Health Walk will be downtown.
Sign-up for the event is available online at www. itsyourrace.com by searching “Run Wright This Way.”
If community members, church groups and other organizations would like to volunteer, sponsor or donate to the event or set up booths/activities, they can email Crystal at crystalstewart@gmail.com.
Although she’s tired, Ginger promised to be at Run Wright This Way. And she’s still looking at the positive side of her fight with cancer.
“I’ll probably have to walk it but I’m gonna be there,” she said. “I’m just so inspired by all the good that has come out of this journey. People have been so supportive and loving. For months we had meals brought to our house every day by people who just want to show they care. I am very touched by that. There are so many negative things in the world today but I got to see the good in people. I got to see how much people really care.”