Sunday, August 26, 2012
By BOB JACKSON
news@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
When Debbie Dennison got the news a dozen years ago that she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer, one terrible thought kept piercing her brain like a spike.
“Oh my god, I just got a death sentence,” said Dennison. “That’s what I kept thinking.”
After all, she’d already known several friends and family members who’d died from various cancers, so she expected the worst for herself. But after fighting through bouts of self-pity and fear, Dennison said she decided to change her attitude to one of optimism and hope, and to get down to the business of getting better.
Sunday, the 54-year-old Warren woman was among the thousands of people who thronged to downtown Youngstown to be part of the third annual Panerathon, a huge, community oriented fund-raising event that benefits the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center at St. Elizabeth Health Center.
More than 5,500 adult entrants filled the streets, participating in either a 10K run /walk or a 2-mile run/walk, while some 600 children took part in a quarter-mile run for kids 12 and under.
“It’s amazing,” said Liz Follet, who is regional marketing director for Covelli Enterprises and served as race director. “The event just keeps getting bigger every year. Pretty soon we might outgrow the Covelli Center.”
Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.