10th annual Panerathon fundraiser is Sunday

By RACHEL GOBEP

Story330

YOUNGSTOWN

Goldie Tillman said she is fighting breast cancer for her three children because she wants to make sure she sees them grow up, graduate and start their own lives. But she’s keen to not have them too involved in her battle.

“I don’t want what I’m going through right now to cause their minds [to be] not really on kid things because you only get to be a kid once,” she said.

She wants her children to still be kids and tries not to put too much pressure on them with her diagnosis. This week, her oldest children started fifth and second grades. Her youngest will start pre-K next week.

On Sunday, all of them and more will be in downtown Youngstown for the 10th annual Panerathon. The Panerathon is a 10,000-person run-walk race hosted by Panera franchisee Covelli Enterprises of Warren in partnership with Mercy Health.

The races include 10K runs, 2K walks and kids races. Proceeds from the event benefit the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center in Youngstown.

Sign-in and registration starts at 8 a.m. at Covelli Centre, downtown. The 10K race starts at 10 a.m. The 2K walk starts at 10:05 a.m. The kids race starts at 11:30 a.m. Walk-ups are welcome to join all events. Entry ranges from $30 to $35.

Tillman, of Warren, was diagnosed with cancer at 29 after she found an abnormal lump in August 2018. She said she originally put it off and went to the doctor after the new year. She feels lucky that she found it when she did because it did not spread. She finished her chemotherapy in July and is set for surgery Sept. 17.

Tillman said this experience has been an eye-opener and that tomorrow is not really promised. She learned that she needs to stop putting things off.

She always did breast exams at home because she has larger breasts, and her biggest fear was needing to have a mastectomy because she is so young.

“[Breasts] for me are the biggest part of being a woman, especially a young woman,” she said.

Tillman’s OBGYN recommended her to the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center after a positive biopsy. From Day One, she said her experience at the center was beautiful – from the kindness of the staff to the environment.

She was scared at first because she was the youngest person there and felt out of place at times because she was the only black woman in the room, but she was made to feel at home.

“This is a great place. I would most definitely recommend this place to any and everybody. ... I have a decent team of people. I love them, and I know they love me.”

Tillman said she is trying to explain to her 9-year-old daughter that cancer is not something a person can just “catch.” It’s not contagious, and the treatment is not something that she can be scared of.

“I know my body, and that’s something [my daughter] needs to learn, too ... because nobody can tell you about your body but you,” she said.

On Sunday at Panerathon, she expects up to 15 family and friends to be with her as they help raise funds for the Joanie Abdu center.

When Joanie Abdu died of breast cancer in 1994, her husband, Dr. Rashid Abdu, pledged to her that a first-class women’s care center would open in Youngstown. The $8 million center opened in 2011 with financial help from the first Panerathon. It has been a partnership ever since, with the race raising more than $2.5 million for the center.

“We have a beautiful community,” Dr. Abdu said. “They understood our mission. They embraced it. It has become a community project. For me, I am so grateful.”

Story330 is a trial journalism cooperative among Mahoning Valley service agencies, Youngstown State University students and area media groups.