Relay For Life in Lake County draws thousands, inspires with accounts of heroism, survival

The 2018 American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life of Lake County welcomed many participants to Mentor June 2, one of 271 such relays held this week across the country.

Founded in 1985 by Dr. Gordon Klatt in Tacoma, Washington, where the event raised $27,000, Relay For Life has raised over $5 billion worldwide.

The signature fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, staffed and coordinated by volunteers in thousands of communities and 27 countries, saw thousands attend the event at Memorial Middle School, each with a different yet similar story of heartbreak, hope and healing.

The newcomer

Through this tapestry, reflecting on her own family, Willowick resident Katelyn Palcisko knew it was time to participate herself.

As a member and community coordinator of Team IBB, a local financial business and personal development organization based in Willoughby, Palcisko shares her story, like others, to help raise money to fund, research and combat cancer.

“If not personally affected, everyone knows someone who has been affected by cancer,” she said. “I took more of an active role, too, when my mom was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in March of 2015. She passed away February 2017. And my grandmother is also battling cancer. So, the least I can do is spend a day here or an hour a month at a meeting doing anything in any way to help. This is easy compared to what they’re going through.

“Team IBB actually started me with Relay For Life. The commitment and dedication from everyone there, especially James (Schleicher, IBB president), has meant so much to our family. This event is awesome. It’s family-friendly and a fun way to fight.... This, too, is a group of people who are all going through a similar situation. Everyone can relate to one another. It brings us closer in real empathy.”

Schleicher believes Relay For Life is also a fun way to be proactive, as opposed to reactive.

“It’s an automatic family bond,” he said, adding his grandfather and grandmother are both cancer survivors. “And we’ve been blessed to have been able to give back to the community. Lake County is our main focus in everything we do.

“I’ve known Katelyn a long time, I knew her mom, so we wanted to do more, personally. From a generational standpoint, Team IBB is fired up, and we’re saying, ‘We’re sick and tired of watching our family and friends suffer.’ ”

Palcisko also raised money through her position as a manager at Craggy’s Bogland’s Pub in Willoughby, initiating monthly fundraisers for the cause.

She said she knew her customers, who knew of her family’s ordeal, would come through. And they did, far surpassing Palcisko’s original goal of $100.

“We raised $1,600,” she said, “since starting in December. Obviously, they’d seen me take time off to be with my mom and they reacted with warmth and understanding. We’re so grateful.”

The caretaker and the survivor

Bert Barresi comes from a family of nine, five of whom have had some form of cancer, some early in age and some within recent years. Her sister, Marie, is a 22-year breast cancer survivor, but Barresi’s had two sisters pass away, less than two years apart, from lung cancer. She’s also had a brother, then only 11, pass away from leukemia.

Her sister, Rita, has had cancer twice.

“It went away, and she had two-thirds of her right lung taken out,” Berresi said, her voice shaking. “She was clean for a few months, and then it came back in three different places and her chances of survival weren’t good. We almost lost her a couple times. She was ready to give up. Knowing our family, a very positive and have-fun-no-matter-what group, we were going to keep at her, telling her to fight. As a caregiver, you have to know your loved ones. There are days they want you to be bubbly, days where they want you to listen and days where you have to be the emotional enforcer.

“I wasn’t going to have her giving up. I got tropical shirts, a boom box, and umbrellas with orange juice in them, and went in her hospital room and laid a shirt over her. She opened her eyes and started laughing. I told her she wasn’t going anywhere and that I needed her to boogie for the rest of my life.

“I still get chills,” she said. “And that was her turnaround. And now, in all three places, she is cancer-free. Rita was the type of patient who was positive, though it was tough and she thought of quitting. But, as a caretaker, if there are times you can give a little bit of sunshine, you do it.”

The other sister

Sandi Pandy is another sister of Barresi’s, beating uterine cancer, but who is now battling colon cancer. Pandy’s attitude, however, is steadfastly upbeat.

“So far so good,” she said. “It’s nice to be together as a group. It makes you feel good. You need a boost. I don’t have the energy I did, but here, at Relay For Life, I feel so good. It brings me up. The money this raises, we’re very proud. Every year we’ve made over our goal. Every nickel, every dime, every dollar helps. We want people to know that.”

Pandy’s husband and caregiver, Mike, said his wife isn’t just battling cancer, but surviving it.

“We’re 10 minutes from a cure. With the research going on, they’re going to turn the corner. We absolutely believe that.”

Hope looking forward

Living that optimism is another thread that connects all affected by cancer, according to Relay For Life Volunteer Event Lead Jeff May, who added that the unity of all participants continues to inspire.

“That’s what this event is all about,” he said, “and it’s been wonderful. It’s so much bigger than last year. We have almost 200 survivors here, and over 40 great teams relaying in support of each other and in beating this disease. I have no doubt together we can continue to make an impact. It’s special beyond words.”

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