Rallying for the Relay: An honorary cancer survivor shares her story

A rally was held last week by Relay for Life Norlanco. They are busy organizing their upcoming event in June.

Honorary cancer survivor Cheryl Ackley was able to make it through the heavy fog, literally and figuratively, to introduce herself to committee members.

Photos by Michele Walter Fry
Cancer survivor Cheryl Ackley shared her experience at the recent Norlanco Relay for Life Rally.

Ackley first went to a Relay for Life walk in June of 2013 to watch her daughter participate on a support team. Three months later, she, herself, was diagnosed with cancer.

“Labor Day weekend I discovered a lump,” said Ackley. “From there you know the drill. It was tests, doctor appointments, and the waiting for the results which is the hardest thing. I learned I would need a double mastectomy and chemo. It just seemed like this could not be happening.

“At one point I had to vacuum my pillow every morning. Showers were the worst because the hair would really let go. It was a whirlwind of events, learning to deal with how you felt, sickness, can’t eat, reactions to the treatment and just being scared of what the future holds.”

Well-meaning people told her it was important for her to keep her chin up.

“One thing I can say is if you go through something like this, you learn a lot and you learn what you are made of,” said Ackley. “I was told I would have a year of treatment and three different chemo meds. They all kept telling me it was important to have a positive attitude.

“It was hard, but I really tried to keep a positive attitude no matter what I was going through at the time. As I got through each phase of treatment, I would tell myself it’s another thing off the list and one step closer to being done with them.

Her faith sustained her as well.

“I do believe God works things out in your life even when you don’t realize it,” said Ackley. “I do believe God arranged for things to happen to help our family get through this journey. I have to admit, I’m still a little scared of the not knowing where I go from here. But then I tell myself we never do know what tomorrow will bring.”

Each year a few survivors are designated as honorary survivors. With this comes responsibility to be in the spotlight and represent the event. They are discussed during the event and announced before their own walk around the track.

“I’m not good at getting up in front of people,” said Ackley. “When they asked me to do this, I said I’m not a good speaker. But I’m willing to do it. I want to share my story and I’ve made it through my treatment and I want to be there for other people as well. There’s not a family that has not been touched by this.”

With Ackley’s determined strength, she should have little problem making the lap around the track which is the highlight of the event. The lap tends to be highly emotional and symbolic for the survivors, and the crowd rallies around them.

This year is different than the past few. It’s the 30th anniversary for Relay for Life Norlanco, so special events will be happening. Since Cocalico High School will start field construction after school ends, the relay will be held at Garden Spot High School where there will have “less restrictions” of what can and can’t be done.

Since the relay started in the ‘80s, that is the fun theme this year.

Volunteers and participants in the upcoming Norlanco Relay For Life set for June 19-20 at Garden Spot High School get in the spirit of the event.

“We’ll be playing 1980s music throughout the whole event,” said Sharon Susa, chairwoman. “We’re going to actually have a mall — a record store, arcade, bakery, Glamour Shots! We have different participation from the community this year. We’re expecting a lot of energy. We have 30 teams registered so far and so far we’ve gotten an amazing response from our sponsors and we’ve picked up on a lot of new.”

The event should be colorful this year, with a start day of June 19, with lots of Aqua Net big hair, Valley Girls, mall rats, neon pants, and shoulder pads under Relay t-shirts.