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Wood County Relay for Life marches through City Park

By Evan Bevins 3 min read

PARKERSBURG -- Candy Summers-Pyles supported the Wood County Relay for Life for years, but after a breast cancer diagnosis in 2017, her role in and relationship to the American Cancer Society fundraiser changed.

"Never did I dream that I would be a survivor one day," she said.

On Saturday, Summers-Pyles was also leading the charge as the grand marshal of the 2023 event at Parkersburg City Park.

"We've all been impacted with cancer in one way or the other," she said. "It was an honor to be able to represent all the survivors (and) caretakers."

Summers-Pyles rode in a convertible leading the first laps of the Relay around the pond in the park. A few cars behind in the opening Survivor Lap was Blennerhassett Heights resident James Carvell, who is starting his second round of chemotherapy Monday after being diagnosed with colon cancer.

"I can't believe there's this many people that've had cancer," he said, looking around the park.

Carvell was driven around the pond in Tim Toothman's T-bucket car. Toothman and his family have been participating in the Relay for years in honor of his father, who had cancer and passed away in 2016.

"We just stay involved, helping with the survivor parade," he said.

Volunteer event lead Jessica Ross said she stays involved with the Relay for her daughter, who at 18 is the same age Ross was when she received a breast cancer diagnosis.

"I just really, really don't want her to ever have to hear those words," Ross said.

She said she appreciates the community aspect of the Relay and spending time with her fellow survivors.

Tracey Province, who sang the national anthem as Saturday's event opened, has participated in the Relay for years as part of a family team, Turtles for a Cure.

"My mother is as slow as a turtle," Province laughed when asked about the team name. "That was my dad's nickname for her."

Province's mother and cousins are cancer survivors and her father's death was related to his own cancer diagnosis. She said she enjoys "raising funds and helping people going through treatment" and "remembering the lost and celebrating the survivors."

Their team raises money by selling T-shirts and knickknacks during the event. They also like going to other teams' tents and supporting their fundraising efforts.

Dr. Jeff Ryckman, a radiation oncologist at WVU Medicine Camden Clark, addressed those in attendance and spoke of the need for people to support cancer patients throughout the process.

"Everything about cancer is a traumatic experience," he said.

Ryckman said he considers many patients friends and compared them to superheroes for their resilience and ability to maintain a positive attitude.

He cautioned against using battle or war metaphors for a person's cancer experience, lest death be equated with losing.

"Our treatments fail our patients. Our patients do not fail our treatments," Ryckman said.

He expressed support for the American Cancer Society's efforts to discover cures for cancer.

"We will find a cure, or we will die trying," he said.

Ross invited anyone who wants to help plan the 2024 Relay to contact her at 304-615-0613 or American Cancer Society senior development manager Carmen Hathaway at 304-482-4657.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.

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