600 cancer survivors march in Warren Relay

By Jordan Cohen | May 9, 2015 at 12:04a.m.

WARREN

Cancer survivors, 600 of them clad in purple T-shirts with colorful letters emblazoned with the word “hope,” marched around Courthouse Square on Friday evening.

They marched as thousands before them have for the past 30 years, their hope emblematic of Warren’s annual Relay for Life.

Each survivor represents a unique story of perseverance and survival.

Rosemary Blicher of Warren, honorary queen who led the march from her wheelchair, is a perfect example. She is 92 and has been cancer-free for 30 years.

“I guess they didn’t want me up there,” she said as she gestured toward the sky, “so I’m doing God’s work down here.”

Ashley Tilton, 31, of Warren sported a shirt declaring her survival from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system. Diagnosed with Stage 2 of Hodgkin’s when she was just 19, Tilton said she underwent chemotherapy and 30 radiation treatments. She has been in remission since 2002.

“They said I could never have children, but they were wrong,” she said, proudly pointing to her four children and to her husband, Mark, who pushed the youngest, a 20-month-old daughter, in a stroller.

“The message is we have to understand what needs to be done,” she said.

Tilton’s friend Heather Booth, 30, of Howland is in the early stages of her fight. The mother of three was diagnosed with breast cancer last February and already has undergone several chemotherapy treatments. Friday marked her first participation in the relay.

“You have to pay attention to your body,” she said. “Only you can find [tumors], and you shouldn’t let anything go.” She said she faces additional treatments.

Organizers describe the Warren relay as the largest of Ohio’s 200 relays, affiliated with the American Cancer Society.

“We’ve got a great turnout,” said Phil O’Hara, who has served as chairman for seven years. O’Hara said 55 teams and sponsors participate in the 24-hour event in which team members raise money for cancer research. He said the total number of participants may be as high as 800.

“Last year we raised $309,000, and this year our goal is $315,500,” O’Hara said. “We’ve got great weather for it.” O’Hara said heavy downpours last year drenched participants throughout the night and into the next day.

Numerous Trumbull County businesses, unions, medical facilities and institutions sponsored teams. Among them were several from Trumbull school districts, including Warren’s John F. Kennedy High School, which had 45 walkers.

“We expect to have 33 of us walking all 24 hours,” said one of the students. Their theme: “Just Keep Swimming” — a slogan from the animated film “Finding Nemo.”

Despite the seriousness, marchers were clearly upbeat, a point emphasized by another cancer survivor, 62-year-old Walter Foltz of Warren. His T-shirt proclaimed his victory over lung cancer.

Foltz, a former smoker who said he quit nearly 11 years before his cancer was diagnosed, required major surgery to remove part of a cancerous lung. Since 2010, he has been cancer-free.

“It means a lot to be here and say to people, ‘Don’t quit,’” Foltz said. “You can beat this. And I’m living proof.”