600, plus some 4-legged assistants, walk/run in TMH breast cancer event

WARREN

Debbie Rihel of Warren is a mammogram technician at ValleyCare Trumbull Memorial Hospital who has seen countless women with breast cancer. Eighteen months ago, she learned she was one of them.

“It’s ironic, but early detection from mammography, what I do at TMH, uncovered my tumor, and now I’m a breast-cancer survivor,” said Rihel.

Rihel, 46, joined a turnout of 600 for the hospital’s Seventh Annual Pink Ribbon Run/Walk early Saturday. Teams and individuals had the choice of running or walking in either a 1-mile or 5K competition on East Market Street in front of the hospital.

Some of the walkers had more than two legs. Opal, a large white boxer, was accompanied by her owner, Tim Boger, a TMH laundry department employee. Borger said his wife, who works in the radiation and oncology department of TMH, is a breast-cancer survivor.

“She’s been on both sides of this so she can identify with [patients],” Borger said.

So could Dr. Roger Tokars, the hospital radiation oncologist, who joined the participants. It was his dog, though, that seemed to get the most attention. The 7-year old show dog, a poodle named Zaney, had a coat that Tokars and his family dyed a shocking pink with beets.

For the complete story, read Sunday's Vindicator or Vindy.com.