Patients, survivors run for a cure

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Runners and walkers take off for the start of the Care 2 Cure at Crozer's Brinton Lake facility on Oct. 19.

It was a little chilly and a little breezy but, as one participant said, it was better than running in the heat. It was also for a serious cause.

The “it” was the second annual Care 2 Cure 5K run and 1-mile walk to benefit the cancer center at Crozer of Brinton Lake. More than 50 people took part, some of them having deeply personal reasons.

Jack Clark, of Bethel Township, is a cancer patient at Crozer.

Some people start early in life.
Some people start early in life.

“We’re all hoping we can cure this,” Clark said, “but this particular event is to raise awareness. Cancer affects so many people. I don’t know one person who isn’t affected by it.”

Wanda McCue is a cancer survivor, having been treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the Brinton Lake facility. She’s also an avid runner and one of the people who started the Crozer Cancer Project Team, a group of volunteers who got together to raise funds for the center.

“I promised to give back if I was healed. I was, so we started CCPT,” she said. “I’ve been a runner for some time so it made sense to combine cancer with a running event.”

McCue said CCPT raised more than $30,000 in 2013 with more than $10,000 coming from the Care 2 Cure run. They have raised more than $10,000 so far in 2014.

Also involved is Dr. Raymond Vivacqua, the head of Crozer Brinton Lake’s Cancer Center, who said the money raised is for funding “the very rapid advancements in cancer care.”

“There have been tremendous advances in the kinds of mammography we have, the kinds of PET CT scans. These are constantly evolving into better and better detection methods,” Vivacqua said.

He added that the CCPT foundation is running various events in addition to the Care 2 Cure run. Some have been at restaurants and one will be an event at the Media Theater during a performance of  “Les Miserables,” on the Friday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 28.

Some participants enjoy special company.
Some participants enjoy special company.

For Michelle Cavaliere, whose husband Tony is a personal friend of Vivacqua, taking part in the run is to help raise awareness. Last year’s event was her first race and, she said, she loved it.

Tony Cavaliere added that members of his family have had cancer and getting involved in Crozer’s fund-raising efforts is his way of giving back.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

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