Westerly Relay for Life - Courage Awards

The goal of the Westerly Relay For Life Courage Award is to provide the local community with a highly visible symbol of personal triumph over cancer as well as to encourage support and participation in the programs of the Society.

Recipients are chosen each year by way of community nominations. Essays are written to nominate a survivor. Nominees must be living in the local surrounding community so they can serve as a positive role model.

2009 Courage Award Recipient

Pamela Blake

Pamela is described as someone with an unbelievable attitude, an assertive confidence, and dogged determination – but mostly, the same gutsy girl she has always been. In the face of a terrifying prognosis, Pamela has fought each and every day with the utmost courage and strength, never accepting defeat.

In April 2007, after many months of struggling with illness, Pamela was diagnosed with an inoperable, Stage 4, Glioblastoma Multiforme brain tumor. At best, she was given 6 months to a year to live. After two long years of both radiation and chemotherapy treatments, Pamela has been told that her tumor is now dormant. This, in itself, is a miracle, one that she attributes to her positive attitude and lots of prayers.

Following her diagnosis, Pamela was referred to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. She was told that a glioblastoma is the most aggressive type of brain tumor and she would require intensely difficult treatment, including both radiation and chemotherapy. She began with a treatment regimen of 5 days a week for 6 weeks. Unfortunately, the early results were not as she hoped for and shortly thereafter she began a second round – two times a month - of more intense chemotherapy.

The second course of treatment proved more successful. For months, the tumor did not grow, which according to her doctors, was a good sign. And now, nearly two years from the date of the original diagnosis, Pamela’s tumor does not appear active on any scans.

As of today, Pamela is still being treated with a tumor stabilizer drug and will continue to do so indefinitely. She suffers from arthritis and chronic sinus problems, as well as other minor ailments, all side effects of the past two years of treatments. However, Pamela is clearly beating the odds and to see her today is a wonderful tribute to the loving wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt and friend that she is. Family and friends say she continues to demonstrate the conviction to persevere every day, never losing hope that she can continue to beat the odds. Her faith and the faith of all those around her continue to sustain her as she continues in the battle of her life.

Pamela is helping others by participating in an online support group for patients with a similar diagnosis. She chats with people from all over the country and is clearly an inspiration to all who hear her story. Her success provides hope to so many others that are fighting right along side of her.

Pamela lives in Westerly with her husband, Mark. They have two children – Greg and Shane.

2008 Courage Award Recipient

Virginia Burbine Staubley

Virginia graduated from Westerly High School in 1955. She was told about 40 years ago that she was pregnant with twins and that she had cancer. Her doctor advised her to consider terminating the pregnancy. She didn’t. One twin died soon after her birth and Virginia had a full hysterectomy. But her son survived. And so did she. She was honored at the Relay For Life and lit the Flame of Hope.

2007 Courage Award Recipient

Kathryn “Kate” Bates

The 2007 Westerly Relay For Life Courage Award winner has been selected. After considering the nominations that were submitted, Kathryn “Kate” Bates was chosen based on an essay submitted by Denise Dostoler. Kate exemplifies the meaning of the Courage Award through her spirit and determination in fighting this disease. She continues the fight to cure cancer with her efforts to raise money for cancer charities. Congratulations, Kate, you are truly an inspiration to us all.

One may ask – “What is Courage?”

Courage is having the strength to take that first step forward, down an unknown path, with an unknown beginning and an unknown end.

At the age of 33, my friend Kathryn “Kate” Bates found herself at the beginning of her own unknown path during the summer of 2004. While on vacation with her fiancé and friends in the British Virgin Islands, Kate noticed that she had a constriction to her breathing and a heavy pressure on her chest. Within days, her throat and neck had become swollen.

Upon her return home, Kate immediately went to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital and promptly had a CT scan. She was referred to see a mediastinal surgeon who told her there was a large mass filling most of her chest cavity and covering her heart. He also informed her that her “Life as she knew of it was about to be changed forever.”

Initially Kate was told that she had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, would need six months of chemotherapy and had a good prognosis. However, further tests at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston revealed that her illness was even graver. Instead, Kate was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblast Leukemia (ALL), would need two years of chemotherapy and only had a 45-55% chance of survival.

Cancer was not something unfamiliar to Kate and her family. When Kate was 19, she lost her mother, Rose Bates, to lymphoma at the early age of 58. Kate knew of the battles with cancer. She had seen the agony of defeat. She felt the pain from loss and grief.

Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow.

When one is young and told they have a potentially terminal illness, because of their youth and strong-will, they have the ability to stare at fear in the face, dare to take risks and dare to win all the while realizing that there is something more important than fear.

With this knowledge in hand, the first thing that Kate did was to get a 2-hour release from the hospital, collect her family and a few friends together and get married down at the board walk on Ocean Beach.

Secondly, Kate began her induction phase of her treatment with Dana Farber and Bringham Women’s Hospital in Boston. This month-long treatment required hospitalization because of its aggressiveness and included 3 bone marrow transplants and 3 lumbar punctures with intrathecal (in spine) chemotherapy. Kate provided extra bone marrow to be used for research and then began her clinical trial of treatment where her chemotherapy was administered intravenously, intrathecally, intramuscularly and orally. Kate and her husband, Jeff, traveled to Boston many times twice a week for treatment where her chemotherapy had to be spread out due to the lethality of the drugs if given simultaneously could prove to be fatal.

Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.

Kate lost all her hair during her first month of treatment. She could no longer walk because she was too weak. Where her life was once filled with bicycling, walks on the beach, cookouts and sailing – her life now became filled with infections, mouth sores, blood clots, shingles, headaches, anemia, weakness, soreness, nerve and muscle damage, nausea, diarrhea, dehydration, weight loss, tingling in hands and feet and severe anxiety. In all, Kate endured 7 bone marrow biopsies, 12 lumbar punctures with intrathecal chemotherapy, 10 days of cranial radiation and 11 blood transfusions.

Health, happiness and success depend upon the fighting spirit in each person. The big thing is not what happens to us in life – but what we do about what happens to us.

When Kate was told that adults only have a 45-55 % chance of survival from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, she also learned that children have an 80-90 % chance of survival from ALL. Kate looked at the glass as half full. Kate decided that if children can recover from ALL, then she would too. Kate has been in remission since 2004 and June is Kate’s 9-month milestone since her last chemotherapy induction.

Courage, it would seem, is nothing less than the power to overcome misfortune, fear, injustice, while continuing to affirm inwardly that life with all its sorrows is good; that everything is meaningful even if in a sense beyond our understanding.

Kate is my hero. Kate recently told me that “as awful as everything was that I went through during my illness and treatment, I was given a gift at the same time – the caring, compassion, love and support from my husband, my family, my friends, the hospital staff and even strangers.”

Kate’s passion for life does not end there. For several years Kate raised money for the American Cancer Society by selling daffodils at work. While in treatment, Kate led her team of supporters in the 2005 and 2006 Light the Night Walk in New London for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). And now for the past several months, Kate has been in training to participate in the TNT Fairfield Half Marathon for LLS at the end of this June.

That’s my Kate, my friend

2006 Courage Award Recipient

Lila Barber

Lila Barber an 11 year old Osteosarcoma survivor is our inspiration for Relay 2006.

Remember back to when you were 10 years old. You were probably riding your bike, playing in the neighborhood, going to school and being with friends. Now stop! Imagine being 10 years old and told you have cancer! Those fun, carefree days quickly came crashing to a standstill for Lila Barber last spring. After some recurrent leg pain, Lila was diagnosed as having Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in her lower leg at Hasbro Children’s hospital. Her kid days were suddenly filled with thoughts of fear and dismay.

On Lila’s 11th birthday, June 27, 2005, Lila had her first dose of chemotherapy. She quickly lost her beautiful head of hair and the spunk that most 11 year olds tire their parents out with. While it was summer, Lila was determined not to let others see her bald. Lila had a summer full of very intense chemo with no swimming, no beach, and no laid back summer days that kids are supposed to have. She spent endless days suffering from the effects of chemo, too sick to eat or even move. Even when she was down, Lila bounced back, more determined than ever to beat the cancer that had invaded her body. In September, Lila followed up the chemo with major surgery on her leg to remove the cancer and the bone that it had attacked. She had a cadaver bone placed where her diseased tibia bone was removed. Her parents, Linda and Will Barber, will always remember the moment that the surgeon came out of the 10 ½ hour surgery with his face lit up and a big smile and his first word to them was “Perfect!” She spent some time recovering from surgery, learning to use crutches and had more chemo to deal with. Lila restarted her chemo protocol shortly after surgery and at present is looking at 2 more treatments.

Right from the start Lila held her head high and always told her parents and brothers, William and Jackson, she would be alright. She learned the cancer language, endured painful shots to boost her immune system to get her body ready for another round of chemo. She has been on crutches for months and spent numerous days and nights in the hospital including a year away from school with no physical activity that involved the leg and a year away from her friends.

Lila has remained strong willed and has kept her sense of humor. She has given her family the strength and courage they need to cope with this dreadful disease. Her parents are so proud of her. Her religious faith has been strengthened and she believes that God will take the suffering that she has endured over the last year and give it meaning. She has beaten this disease and she will always be willing to help others to find the strength to beat it too.

Lila is so full of spunk and so full of life. She is always telling of her next new adventure that she wants to do such as rock climbing or even getting her diving certificate so she can search for sunken treasure. All this makes Mom even more nervous, of course, but Lila just has a lot of living to do and nothing is going to stop her, not even cancer.

Just recently, Lila has scans that showed she is cancer free but she still needs to do her remaining treatments as protocol. Her mom, Linda has been praying that her little girl can be an inspiration to someone else who has to face this disease. Just recently, Lila’s grandfather, Billy, was diagnosed with some form of cancer on his lung. He looked to Lila for inspiration and he told everyone he could beat this disease because he had a strong granddaughter to look to for inspiration! While she went to Hasbro for another round of chemo, she kissed and hugged her grandfather as he went to Boston to have his cancer operated on. Thankfully he is also doing well.

She has kept up with her 6th grade school work all during her recovery from surgery and in between chemotherapy. She still insisted on visiting with her friends even when she had no hair or eyelashes or eyebrows! She is very much looking forward to this summer. While many people might be bitter about the fate that has befallen them, Lila looks ahead and uses positive energy to help heal her body and soul. The strength and courage that Lila has demonstrated over the past year makes her our inspiration for Relay 2006.

Lila lives in Westerly with her Mom, Dad and two brothers, William and Jackson. She attended St. Pius X School from K- 5th grade and is now being tutored at home in between her treatments. Soon she will return to the Westerly Middle School and be among her friends again.

2005 Courage Award Recipient

Elizabeth (Betty) Gentile

Betty, at age 65, is a shining example of how hope and courage can keep one’s spirit, determination and fight alive. Betty says she will never be the person she was nine years ago but she comes as close as she can with every new day she is given. She surrounds herself with a wonderful family and lots of friends, old friends and new friends she has made along this journey.

In 1996, Betty was diagnosed with Stage 4 Throat Cancer, and at best was given roughly 6 months to live without treatment. At first, the treatment options presented to her seemed incomprehensible – surgery to remove her jaw bone and tongue and to live out the rest of her life on a feeding tube. Betty was not willing to face disfigurement nor have her children and grandchildren see her that way. This course of treatment was not an option for Betty and she told her doctor she wanted to seek a second opinion. She ultimately found that second opinion at the Dana Farber Institute in Boston, and credits them with saving her life today.

In Boston, Betty became one of only 21 patients to try an experimental throat cancer treatment regimen consisting of intense chemotherapy followed by radiation – and no surgery. From October through December 1996, Betty endured 7 days straight of brutal chemotherapy treatments, with 28 days in between each “cocktail.” She grew violently ill and extremely weak during this time, losing her hair, and at times feeling like she was losing her mind. But the good news she continued to hear was that her tumor was shrinking!

Then, following the grueling months of chemo, Betty began a regimen of radiation treatments twice a day for 38 days. Just prior to beginning radiation, Betty had a feeding tube inserted. This would be the only means of nourishment during her treatments. Again, Betty faced pain like she had never felt before. Swallowing, something most of us take for granted, became even more difficult for her.

Just when Betty felt she couldn’t possibly go on another day, she was thrown a second curve. Almost two months into Betty’s fight, her son was also diagnosed with cancer – lung cancer. Betty found herself not only fighting for her own life, but doing all she could to give support to her son as well. Thomas, Betty’s son, is in remission today and although he and his mother were always close, today their bond is much stronger.

In March of 1997, Betty completed her experimental treatment and today is cancer free; her tumor is completely gone! Although it has since been a rough road for Betty dealing with the side effects of the various treatments, she is active and living every day to the fullest. Betty suffers terribly with neuropathy in both her hands and legs, even breaking her hip and both feet more than once, and she continues to take medication to help make saliva.

Betty feels blessed that she has been given a new lease on life. She now counsels others at Dana Farber who have been diagnosed with similar cancer and who are considering going through what now has become a non-experimental treatment for throat cancer. She provides a great deal of hope to all she meets. She volunteers at the Westerly Senior Center and is a cherished wife, mother and grandmother.

Betty lives in Westerly with her husband John. They have five children - John Jr., Ronald, Thomas, Danny and Debbie, nine grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

2004 Courage Award Recipient

Debra Ferarro

Family members, friends and the entire Westerly Relay For Life community were saddened by the passing of Deb Ferraro on January 16, 2007. She fought a long, hard, courageous battle with cancer and will always be remembered by all as the "Angel Among Us."

When Deb was 19 and a sophomore at UCONN, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She had a thyroidectomy and was able to complete her studies. After college, she married Fred Ferraro, had 2 children, Andrea and Danielle, and worked herself to the position of Director of New Business Development at S&S Worldwide in Colchester. In July 1999, Deb was diagnosed with cancer again, this time, breast cancer. She was 37 at the time. She had 2 lumpectomies, followed by 2 years of chemotherapy and 7 weeks of daily radiation. During treatment, she became involved in the Westerly Hospital Breast Cancer Support Group and met a network of very supportive friends. In addition, Deb got involved in the Westerly Relay For Life. She joined the Survivor Committee and then eventually took on the role of Chairperson of the event for 2 years in 2002 and 2003. Deb was instrumental in helping the Relay For Life event become more of a support system for cancer survivors.

After her second cancer diagnosis, Deb decided she wanted to change careers to make an impact on lives. While in remission, she started working on her masters of education at Sacred Heart University to become a teacher. She was a kindergarten teacher at Gales Ferry Elementary School in Ledyard, CT.

In January 2004, at the age of 42, Deb was diagnosed with a metasis of breast cancer. The cancer spread to her lungs, liver and neck. She underwent weekly chemotherapy treatments and was a participant in a cancer trial at Dana Farber until she lost her battle in January 2007.

Deb will always be remembered as a very strong woman. Even in the midst of her third round of cancer, she got up every day to take care of her children, teach kindergarten, take classes to complete her master’s degree and help others in their fight for cancer. She was a very active mom taking her kids to soccer, softball or basketball games and had relentless stamina and courage to be supportive of those around her. She tried to maintain a good balance between her family, work, school and all her volunteer activities. Her faith was strong and she believed one is never given more than one can handle

2003 Courage Award Recipient

Gemma Masucci

Gemma passed away on January 10, 2006 after a long nine year battle with breast cancer, always fighting courageously and with dignity until the end. Gemma had been very involved in the Westerly Hospital's breast cancer survivor group. Those in the group called her an inspiration and a very courageous women as she always offered encouragement and support to the many survivors in the group. She loved to take care of everyone around her and make sure they were happy and had enough to eat. Her family came first as she helped to raise some of her grandchildren. She was always ready to baby-sit, cook or whatever it took to help. She once said, "I don't have time for cancer, I have babies to take care of"! After receiving her award in 2003, Gemma continued to support the Relay For Life through the sale of her cookbook, Cooking With Courage, published for her by her daughters and close friends. Signing many of the books "Cook with a smile, pray for a cure", her fundraising efforts will continue.

Gemma lived in Westerly for 48 years with her husband, Louis J. Masucci, Sr. They have 5 children, Louis, Jr., Lisa, James, Julie and Michael.

2002 Courage Award Recipient

Peggy Friend

Peggy courageously fought cancer since first being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994. After undergoing a mastectomy followed by six months of chemotherapy and five years of medication, she had a local reoccurrence of a tumor. In the year 2000, she went through another round of chemotherapy and radiation. In July 2001, Peggy's cancer had metastasized to her brain and optic nerve. The lesions were treated with gamma knive radiation. Unfortunately, Peggy lost the fight and passed away in 2003. Peggy's positive attitude, her husband and family as well as her support network made a world of difference for Peggy as she continued to fight the battle. Peggy was a REMAX South County realtor and lived in Westerly with her husband and four children.

2001 Courage Award Recipient

Raymond E. James

Ray was diagnosed with leukemia shortly before his Westerly high school graduation in 1999. After a one year battle, Ray, who was just 19, passed away May 19th, one month prior to the Relay. His stepmother, Colleen James, accepted the award on his behalf. Ray lettered in both track and football and received statewide recognition. He was planning to enter the University of New Haven in the fall to study and play football. Ray was an inspiration to many of his friends and classmates for his courage and perseverance.

2000 Courage Award Recipient

Cathleen Marriott

Cathleen is a 5-year breast cancer survivor. She was determined to fight the battle by having a positive attitude and keeping her body healthy as a cardio kickboxing instructor. Along with her full time job as General Manager at S & P Oyster House, she was the co-chair of the 2001 Westerly Relay for Life. She is very involved in the Breast Cancer Support Group and Synergy at the Westerly Hospital and has helped many others in their battle.

1999 Courage Award Recipient

Adam Trombino

Adam was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoblastic lymphoma just before his 9th birthday. He was treated with more than 100 weeks of aggressive, painful chemotherapy. He was determined to be just like any other boy his age and became very involved in the Relay For Life to help others. Unfortunately, Adam was rediagnosed when he was 12 and underwent more chemo treatments and a bone marrow transplant in Minnesota. He endured months away from home and fought the cancer with such a great attitude. Adam passed away on October 3, 2002. Adam also received the regional youth courage award from the American Cancer Society in November 2002. He was a true hero and will always be remembered as a friend of the Relay.

1998 Courage Award Recipient

Carolyn Longolucco

Carolyn was the very first Westerly Relay for Life Courage Award recipient. She successfully battled cancer herself after her husband, James, lost the battle to lung cancer. Carolyn shared the award on behalf of her loving husband.