On Saturday, June 28, the Union County Unit of the American Cancer Society hosted a cancer survivors’ luncheon at First United Methodist Church, with a theme to “celebrate, remember and fight back.”
“We are going to try to do this every year as long as we can,” said local Board Member Wendy Holden in her opening remarks. “I want to thank everyone for being here and to thank our team for their help preparing this.”
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First Methodist Senior Pastor Jimmy Hood said the blessing and welcomed everyone, congratulating attendees on being survivors.
“Know that we keep you in our prayers,” Hood said. “We pray for your strength during those difficult times and want you to know that God walks beside you. And we are grateful to God for the advancements in healing and technology.”
Union County Unit Board Member Sue Upchurch, a cancer survivor herself, explained that the goal of the luncheon was to “celebrate our cancer survivors,” and she expressed appreciation to First Methodist for agreeing to host “this celebration of life with us.”
Upchurch has been an American Cancer Society volunteer since 1983, when she moved here from Atlanta. She has been involved in all the local fundraising and awareness efforts, from Relay For Life and Daffodil Days to the Great Smokeout and hospital health fair outreaches.
“A couple of dear friends who passed last year were a part of these efforts, and there are about four of us who continue to carry the torch,” Upchurch said.
Holden said that, originally, the group held a survivor’s picnic at the actual Relay For Life, but “since we are not doing that, we decided on this luncheon.”
“It was Barbara Richardson’s idea,” Holden said. “She has passed on, but as Sue said, we are carrying through for her. I’ve been a volunteer with the American Cancer Society for about 10 years.”
And while the fight against cancer continues, strides have been made, even at the local level. Volunteer Fran Edwards said everyone was grateful to have a “wonderful cancer center here in Union County now,” making treatment easier for area cancer patients.
“We used to take patients to Gainesville or Atlanta for their chemo or radiation treatments, and they had to go several days each week,” Edwards said. “It was very hard on us and on the patients, but there was no other answer.
“If they needed treatment, they had no other choice. They could not afford to stay in a hotel for weeks at a time. But now we are blessed to have this center, and we have doctors here that bring chemo treatment to people.”
Edwards was 59 when she had her first mammogram, which discovered that she had cancer: “I needed two lumpectomies. My faith is what got me through. Now I get my mammogram every year.”
According to the American Cancer Society, women between 40 and 44 have the option to start screening with a mammogram every year, while women 45 to 54 should get mammograms every year.
“Women 55 and older can switch to a mammogram every other year, or they can choose to continue yearly mammograms,” per the Cancer Society. “Screening should continue as long as a woman is in good health and is expected to live at least 10 more years.”
The American Cancer Society was established in 1913, and the first successful chemotherapy treatment occurred in 1947. The organization’s mission is to eradicate cancer, and it works to improve the lives of people with cancer through advocacy, research and patient support.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. The overall mortality rate continues to decline because of the reduction of smoking, earlier detection for some cancers and improved treatments.
However, the work is not finished yet, and the research must continue. For more information and to learn how to donate toward the fight to end cancer, visit https://cancer.org.
