Finding the cure for cancer through relay
There was a time in 18-year-old Holli Colligan’s life when she could not walk upright or stand up straight without stumbling over.
During gymnastics practice, she could not stay on the balance beam without swaying over and hitting the walls. Colligan was forced to quit gymnastics because of experienced vertigo, a chronic dizziness and sensation of spinning.
After her second visit with her doctor, an order of a CT scan was done and a golf ball-sized tumor was found an inch away from her brain stem.
At age 14, Colligan said she was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma and lost her reading comprehension ability along with it.
“It was really hard to get back into the groove of learning. I fought hard to get into AP and honors classes,” she said. “I’ve been blessed, so blessed. I had to work really hard to get here and it was hard to get back into a social life.”
To rid the tumor, Colligan had to go through six weeks of 31 radiation treatments and one year of chemotherapy and now has been out of treatment for two years.
According to relayforlife.org, one in three people will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime.
Because of one doctor, who wanted nothing more than to show support for his patients who have battled cancer, according to the Web site, Relay For Life was formed in 1986 by Dr. Gordy Klatt.
Relay For Life is a fundraiser by the American Cancer Society who raise funds to fight cancer and raise awareness of cancer prevention and treatment. The Web site states it offers everyone in a community an opportunity to participate in the fight against cancer. The actual event is to celebrate the lives of cancer survivors, remember those who were lost and to continue to fight.
Colligan became USU relay team development chair this year for the 2009 Relay For Life board and continues to pursue her involvement in Relay For Life throughout her time at USU.
“Radiation and chemotherapy was brutal which is why Relay for Life is so important. No one should have to go through what I did,” Colligan said.
Even after treatments have been done and chemotherapy was finished, the side effects of cancer have not left. Colligan said weak legs, allergies to certain foods, nausea and fatigue are just some of the side effects she faces.
Colligan said without the money from relay fundraising, researchers would not be able to make discoveries with cancer.
“We are the first generation that will see a cure for cancer. With these relays, there is hope for a cure,” she said.
Through extreme hard work and determination, Colligan was able to regain her reading comprehension through diligent studying throughout high school and in June 2008, Colligan graduated high school with a 3.99 GPA.
“It’s not easy to go through. It’s important to fight back and find a cure for cancer,” she said.
USU Relay Co-Chair Sara Fifield became involved with Relay for Life after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006.
“She’s the reason I relay,” she said. “To see my mom beat breast cancer was an inspiration to me.”
Fifield’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer during Fifield’s junior year of high school. Fifield said because the cancer was detected early, doctors were able to treat it before worse symptoms arose.
“I was kind of in shock when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and at the time I didn’t comprehend it at first. I feel so blessed it was treatable,” she said.
Fifield’s mother found Relay For life through the support groups she was in after recovering from cancer.
“Our generation is the one who will see a cure. It’s not a distant prospect anymore and it can actually happen,” Fifield said.
For more information, contact Fifield at sara.fifield@gmail.com or Colligan at holli.colligan@aggiemail.usu.edu.
–candice.sandness@aggiemail.usu.edu