4,000 walk, run, raise $180K for Valley breast-cancer center

By SEAN BARRON

news@vindy.com YOUNGSTOWN

Many 20-year-olds spend a lot of time working, attending college and figuring out what direction they want their lives to take.

When Breanna Rohrman was that age, however, those common occurrences might have seemed trivial when viewed next to what was on her plate: news that she had cancer.

“When she was diagnosed, it was a lot to take in at first,” said her mother, Lisa Rohrman. “We’re all doing well [now] and had a lot of people praying for us.”

In June 2009, the family received the difficult news, but eight rounds of chemotherapy and several surgeries later, Breanna has returned to Youngstown State University as an engineering major after a one-year interruption. She’s also working as a summer intern at a Youngstown architectural firm, her mother noted.

Breanna, her sister, Samantha, father, Bob, and several relatives made up one of the teams that took part in Sunday’s second annual Panerathon 10-kilometer or 2-mile run and walk that began at and returned to the Covelli Centre.

More than 4,000 registered participants walked or ran individually or as part of a team to raise money for the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center, which is to open in early November at St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown. Sunday’s event benefited the Humility of Mary Health Partners Development Foundation in support of the center.

Sunday’s event raised $180,000 for the center.

Read the full story with photos and a list of winners Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.