Dozens of cancer survivors celebrate life at Warren event

BY JORDAN COHEN

news@vindy.com

WARREN

Life is beautiful.

That was the common refrain among cancer survivors at the 22nd annual Cancer Survivorship Day today — and they meant it.

Nearly 50 cancer patients, wearing pins showing how many years they have survived the disease, attended the event at Lincoln School sponsored by Trumbull Memorial Hospital and the American Cancer Society.

“This is a celebration of life,” said Lori Sylvester, the hospital’s vice president of outpatient services.

“Thank God we have this,” said Mary Lou Miller, 77, of Warren, whose pin showed that she has survived skin cancer for seven years. “Nothing happening to me now, hopefully,” Miller said.

Stanley Raphoon, 65, a retired engineer from Cortland, is a two-year survivor of esophageal cancer. “There’s no question modern medicine has much to do with my survival,” said Raphoon, who endured chemotherapy treatments for nearly eight months.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.