June 5, 2006

'You keep walking'

Thousands turn out for cancer center's annual fundraiser

By Lauren Klein

Special Correspondent, The Advocate

STAMFORD - Seven-year-old twins Lily and Liam Shanahan yesterday biked up to the familiar house on Sea Beach Drive where their grandparents once lived.

In 2004, their grandmother died of colon and liver cancer and their grandfather died of skin cancer.

The twins slowed down and glanced at the house, then kept biking along the 5-mile route of the Bennett Cancer Center Walk & Run.

"You get a little teary-eyed, but you keep walking," said the twin's mother, Laura Shanahan, 40. "They would have been happy that we are here."

The Shanahans were among more than 4,000 people who participated in the 11th annual event to raise money for research, support services and other programs at the Bennett Cancer Center in Stamford.

"It's very uplifting to see an outpouring like this," said Liz Manfredo, administrator of cancer services. "This gives us the spark to do it again for another year. It's support for us and for the people we treat."

Organizers yesterday said the walk raised more than $470,000. It was the largest total in history for the day of the event, they said. They expected the total to rise when last-minute donations were calculated.

Last year, the event raised $640,000. The goal this year was $1 million. Since the walk began in 1996, it has raised more than $4 million.

Walk teams tend to bring in the most money, organizers said. Among the 130 teams that participated this year, Friday Girls were poised to break the team record of $33,000. As of yesterday, they had $31,100.

Friday Girls leaders Sharon Kratochvil, 48; Maureen Meehan, 47; and Pam Zangrillo, 51, all from Darien, met while being treated in the chemotherapy lounge at the Bennett Cancer Center on Fridays.

Kratochvil and Zangrillo were diagnosed with breast cancer in August within weeks of each other. Meehan was diagnosed two years ago with lung cancer. They shared fears and anxieties, and held out a hand while they were treated. A fourth Friday Girl, Jean Walker of Redding, could not attend.

"Cancer is a life-changing experience and to find other people who are going through what you are going through is a huge blessing," Zangrillo said.

Because their treatments ran a parallel course, Zangrillo and Kratochvil often found themselves passing each other in the hallways of the Bennett Cancer Center - one on the way in to see the doctor, the other on the way out.

"Every day for seven weeks we had a hug," Kratochvil said.

Because Meehan went through much of the same, they found inspiration in her tips for coping.

They found services at the center, including Reiki, meditation and massage, so helpful that they wanted to give back, Kratochvil said. So they organized family members and friends into a team of 89.

"We had no idea that so many people would turn out," Kratochvil said. "I just wanted to make sure that all the patients that come after me get the same phenomenal programs and services we had."

Debbi McNamara, 35, whose mother beat breast cancer but lost a friend, Mike Barron, to cancer, said the walk made her realize how many people in southern Connecticut are affected by the disease.

"When you see this many people in one place, it does really hit home," McNamara said. "But you get such a lift from the solidarity."

Ó2006 Southern CT Newspapers, Inc.