Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Race for the Cure coming to Ohio State U. area
By Adam Van Hart
The Lantern (Ohio State U.)
05/19/2006

(U-WIRE) COLUMBUS, Ohio — For most people participating in the Race for the Cure, it is an opportunity to donate money and time to a worthy cause.

But for some, it is a way to reconfirm that they have survived cancer.

And for others, it is a way to give support to those who have survived, or even memorialize those that they have lost in the battle against cancer.

"It just makes you realize that your life isn't as bad as you think,"said Ohio State University graduate Monica Patel, who is working on the committee which is registering students for the Race for the Cure.

Patel said there is a large number of survivors who are involved with the race.

"We are at 1,200 right now," said Katie Carter, a Komen Columbus spokeswoman, in an e-mail.

There is a special event held for the survivors who are participating in the event, which is called Survivor-Pallooza, which is attended only by survivors, Patel said.

"We try to make them feel special," Patel said.

But for the people who are participating in the Race for the Cure who are not survivors but have lost someone, there is a kind of solace in the event.

That is what Tiffanee Davey, a senior in textiles and clothing, found when she came to OSU.

Davey, of Cincinnati, has had plenty of firsthand experience with breast cancer; both her mother and her cousin were diagnosed. Her mother's cancer was detected early and was able to be removed with surgery, but sadly, her cousin was not as fortunate.

"It was obviously very devastating," Davey said.

Davey's cousin was diagnosed in 1996, while still in her mid-twenties, and went through treatments, but with little success.

"After a while she gave up on the chemo and started trying experimental treatments," such as eating only natural foods, Davey said. These treatments were able to extend Davey's cousin's life for a few more years, but eventually, her cousin passed away in 2000.

It was this experience that got Davey's family involved with the Race for the Cure in Cincinnati.

"After she was diagnosed and started getting worse, my cousins started working with Komen," Davey said.

Davey's entire family participates in the race in Cincinnati and she has brought that tradition with her to Columbus.

"When I came to Columbus, it was important for me to continue on with that," Davey said.

And continue she did, participating in the race every year she has been at OSU, two of which she ran with her mother.

"It is very sobering to see a little girl who is wearing something that says, 'I am running for my mother,'" Davey said.

Besides participating in the Race, Davey helped organize registration on campus. She noted that more student organizations have become involved in the race. For Davey, getting the word out to students at OSU is one of the more important functions of the race.

"Getting more and more people to take care of themselves," is the main goal, Davey said.

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