SURVIIVORS — Catherine Poludniak, far left, director of the Trinity Health System Foundation, and the Trinity Tiger stood with breast cancer survivors during the health system’s National Cancer Survivors Day celebration Friday. The survivors are, from left, Terry Jennings, Joyce Summers and Yvonne Tuchalski.-- Christopher Dacanay
STEUBENVILLE — Trinity Health System invited cancer survivors to celebrate life with a luau-themed party at Trinity Medical Center West Friday.
Occurring at the lot across from the Tony Teramana Cancer Center, the festivity commemorated National Cancer Survivors Day, which is typically celebrated on the first Sunday of June.
Attendees wore floral necklaces and grass skirts, and tropical decorations were draped from a tent filled with drawing items. Attendees could enjoy food from Baby-Boyz BBQ and Catering while listening to upbeat music from a disc jockey. Additional snacks were located outside and in the cancer center.
Trinity’s commemoration of the holiday used to be formal dinner, but after the COVID-19 pandemic, the health system decided to do something fun that incorporates more people and celebrates the survivors, said Catherine Poludniak, director of the Trinity Health System Foundation, the system’s nonprofit fundraising arm that stewards philanthropic gifts.
“The foundation has been very supportive of this. It was like a no-brainer for us to jump in and help such a wonderful cause,” Poludniak said.
The event was conceived by Gretchen Heizler, radiation oncology supervisor, said Poludniak, noting that the foundation contributed slushies and popcorn for survivors to enjoy.
“It’s extremely important to support your patients any way you can, to be able to celebrate them in their fight and their remission. (This celebration) is an opportunity that we would not want to miss.
“The moment a patient hears that they have cancer, their fight begins. … Survivors are surviving from day one, and for us to be able to offer a moment or an afternoon, where you forget about all the things you worry about and celebrate life and the joy of being here, that is something we really do take pride in.”
Trinity is with cancer patients through diagnosis at its Images mammography center through treatment at the cancer center, which handles all types of cancer, though certain specialized cases may necessitate staff assisting patients in finding where they can be treated, Poludniak said.
Attending the party were breast cancer survivors Terri Jennings, Yvonne Tuchalski and Joyce Summers. Jennings has been a survivor for almost 11 years, while Tuchalski has been a survivor for two. The latter said she heard she was cancer free on Holy Thursday two years ago, adding, “It was so nice — Easter time — Christ was alive and I was alive.”
Summers has been a survivor for a little more than 21 years. She’s a member of the breast cancer support group, which meets every first Tuesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. in the cancer center. Summers said the group, which is led by Paulette Frank and open to survivors and those actively undergoing treatment, has existed since she was first diagnosed.
“It’s a great source of support and education,” said Summers, who often leads the group’s opening and closing prayers, with the group reciting together at the end: “Always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.”
The group often invites speakers to discuss various topics like nutrition or cancer treatments. Although there will be no July meeting due to Independence Day, the Aug. 6 meeting’s speaker will discuss how to deal with cancer psychologically, said Summers who is “so glad” that Jennings convinced her to join the group.
A support group member, Tuchalski said she is inspired by survivors with more years in remission than herself. Tuchalski is neither the most recent survivor nor the longest — the latter title goes to a survivor of 24 years.
Tuchalski noted the group has sponsored trees in the Steubenville Nutcracker Village decked with the names of cancer survivors — local or famous — which would often evoke tears from passersby. She said being in the group “helps because it shows there is a life after cancer.”
Tuchalski also is involved with the Brooke and Hanco*ck counties chapter of the American Cancer Society, a national nonprofit aimed at cancer’s elimination. She was undergoing radiation therapy during Trinity’s first survivors day celebration, and a week later she walked the society’s relay fundraiser.
The society estimates that one-eighth of women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes, Tuchalski said, and one-third of people in general will be diagnosed with some form of cancer.
The women recalled the difficulties of undergoing treatment, particularly how the procedures can be debilitating, necessitating a lot of assistance.
Listening to music from the DJ, Tuchalski noted one song — “Lean on Me” by Club Nouveau — is a “caregiver song,” or a song encouraging those who care for another dealing with cancer. Tuchalski was the caregiver for her mother, who had pancreatic cancer.
“You need somebody to lean on. You need somebody to call,” Tuchalski said.
Summers recalled how her only son was her caregiver, being supportive throughout her treatment. Summers said every moment one has when dealing with cancer is “a blessing.”
It’s important individuals get screened for cancer, such as through mammograms, which are X-ray screenings of the breast, said Summers, who was first diagnosed with cancer at Images.
“I think mammograms are so important because you don’t always have a lump or a sign. … You don’t always see (the cancer) or feel it,” Summers said.
Tuchalski said mammograms are recommended yearly for women 40 or older, or earlier for those at higher risk.
If someone is unable to pay for a screening, there are organizations willing to help, Tuchalski said, including the American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen and Urban Mission Minisrtries, which sponsors free mammograms during its yearly Minority Health Month.
“A lot of people won’t do it because they’re fearful of the machines,” Tuchalski said. “(But) when you detect your cancer at an early stage, your survival rate is higher.
“Mammograms only pinch for a minute. Breast cancer can last a lifetime,” Summers added. “Even if you’re in remission, it can come back.”
Tuchalski noted that a plaque hangs in the cancer center thanking famed singer and Steubenville native Dean Martin for donating toward the former St. John Hospital’s cobalt therapy machine for treating cancer in 1964. Tuchalski said Martin was inspired to do so by his mother, Angela Crocetti, who suffered from breast cancer.
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