When Jim Stavseth saw his father, Gus, cough up blood, he knew he had to get him to a hospital.
“I have four brothers and sisters and they looked at me and asked what to do,” Jim recalls of that day almost 10 years ago.
The Stavseth family was in Rochester at the time where Gus was receiving treatment for his fast-growing lung cancer. His prognosis wasn’t good – only three to six months with treatment.
Unfortunately, Gus died three weeks after his diagnosis, surrounded by his family.
While Jim said he would have liked more time with his father, he is grateful the medical staff at Rochester Methodist Hospital was able to ease Gus’ pain and suffering.
“Seeing the way his type of cancer progressed, if there wasn’t the doctors to take care of him, it would have been a horrible, horrible death,” Jim Stavseth said.
That is why he is so active in Relay for Life.
Relay for Life, an annual event that raises money for the American Cancer Society, attracts more than 4 million people in more than 20 countries to raise much-needed funds and awareness to save lives from cancer.
While Stavseth’s father couldn’t be saved, others can, and Stavseth knows that.
“Everyone knows someone who has had or has cancer,” he said. “We need to help get money to the doctors so they can help their patients.”
The Koochiching County Relay for Life event is set to run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 3 at Rainy River Community College.
Denae Alamano, a Relay for Life specialist with the American Cancer Society, said a goal of $25,000 is set for the county to raise toward the fight against cancer.
“We are making a difference,” Alamano said. “The American Cancer Society has played a role in nearly every cancer breakthrough. One hundred years ago when ACS began, one out of 10 people were surviving cancer. Now two out of three are surviving. We don’t want it to take another 100 years to make it three out of three. When you come support your local relay, you’re helping find a cure and helping local cancer patients financially and emotionally while they are going through treatment.”
The May 3 relay will return favorite events of previous years including the opening ceremony, 5-kilometer run/walk, celebrity pie contest, games, survivor speech, and the luminary ceremony.
“The luminary ceremony is pretty powerful,” Stavseth said.
Luminaries in honor of or in memory of cancer survivors will be on display at RRCC throughout the event. Some, Stavseth said, are really moving.
“If you take the time to walk around and read the bags, that alone will make people emotional,” he said. “You realize how many people you know have been touched by cancer.”
New this year will be luminaries honoring caregivers.
“So many survivors are so appreciative to their caregivers,” Alamano said. “Oftentimes, the caregivers’ lives are completely changed along with the survivors. Many caregivers who attend relay have lost their relative/friend/spouse to cancer and we want them to know how much we value their dedication to fighting back against cancer, too.”
Stavseth said when his mother died of liver cancer in 1994, he played a small role as a caregiver, but acknowledged there were people who were more involved.
“We don’t realize how much a caregiver goes through,” he said. “Thank God there’s people who are there to do that.”
Relay for Life is a community-wide event, regardless if attendees are on an official relay team. Alamano said last year $21,000 was raised and she is hopeful to bring in more funds this year.
