The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Family fights cancer through Relay For Life
BLUE BELL » In the fall of 2014, Blue Bell resident Karen Aberant was applying sunscreen before a neighborhood picnic when she felt a lump. Although she was initially told that the lump would likely be nothing, a mammogram and ultrasound suggested otherwise, and a biopsy confirmed that the lump was consistent with cancer. And so began her relatively short but complication-filled journey with breast cancer.
Aberant’s diagnosis resulted in a flurry of medical appointments and tests. Surgery followed, and then a treatment protocol of chemo and radiation was prescribed because she was only 40 at the time. But after reactions to two different chemo drugs — the second one so severe that she was hospitalized — Aberant now jokes, “I failed chemo.” Other complications along the way included a blood clot and a problem with a blood thinner that landed her back in the hospital. Finally, in April 2015, Aberant, joined by her young son, Roman, participated in the traditional ringing of the bell to signify the end of her treatment. Then, it was off to IHOP for celebratory pancakes.
As is always the case when someone is diagnosed with cancer, the patient is not the only one who suffers. Roman was only seven years old when his mom got sick, and as he explains, “I was very affected by it. It really changed me.” His frustration, anxiety, and fear were compounded by losing his aunt to pancreatic cancer in the middle of his mother’s illness. “He had a lot of baggage for a couple years,” say Aberant. “He was not our happy-go-lucky kid.”
Roman’s mom credits her son’s fifth-grade teacher at Blue Bell Elementary for helping to pull him out of this difficult period. The next year, at Wissahickon Middle School, Roman found a way to fight back against the disease that had caused so much pain for his family. He became captain of a Relay For Life fundraising team.
Held nationally and internationally, the Relay For Life is not a race; it is a community event that raises money for the American Cancer Society. It also provides participants with the opportunity to honor cancer survivors and remember loved ones lost. Locally, Relay For Life of the Wissahickon Valley has been taking place for over 20 years, encompassing many communities, including Ambler, Upper Dublin, Whitpain, Lower Gwynedd, Plymouth, Whitemarsh, Springfield, and Chestnut Hill.
Since 2016, Roman and his family had been attending Relay For Life as community members, but in 2019, they created the Trottin’ Trojans fundraising team. Roman took the reins of the team and was largely responsible for raising $1,800 in one month. The Aberants continued to participate in Relay For Life even during the two years that it went virtual during the pandemic.
They are thrilled that this year, Relay For Life will be back in person. The 2022 event will take place on Saturday, June 25, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Wissahickon High School. Admission is free, and attendance is open to everyone of all ages. This year’s Relay will give people the opportunity to come back together with family and friends for food, fun, raffles, activities, and entertainment, all in the name of a good cause. Those who choose to can walk laps around the track to show their support for the fight against cancer. At 7 p.m., cancer survivors are encouraged to attend a ceremony in their honor. At 9:15, Relay’s revelry pauses for the Luminary Ceremony, when the track is encircled with glowing luminaria in honor, memory, and support of those who have been affected by cancer.
“My favorite part is the luminaria,” says Karen Aberant. “It’s such a beautiful way to end Relay. It makes you stop and think about all those who have been touched, all who have been lost.”
For more information about the 2022 Relay For Life, visit the event website at secure.acsevents. org/site/TR/RelayForLife/