Relay for Life gives those dealing with cancer hope for the future

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

Hope is a strong word – tough enough to knock out cancer.

That’s why Steve Lovik keeps fighting for a cure to defeat the disease.

Lovik, the senior community development manager for the American Cancer Society in northern Iowa, oversees six area counties that hold annual Relay for Life events.

He’ll be at one of those this Friday when Floyd County holds its Relay for Life in Charles City from 5 to 9 p.m. at Central Park.

“Cancer doesn’t have to be a death sentence,” said Lovik.

The goal for all Relay for Life events across the nation is to raise money to further cancer research. There has been groundbreaking work done in cancer treatment because of Relay for Life, which was started through the American Cancer Society in 1985 and now holds more than 5,000 events worldwide, having raised almost $5 billion.

“If you had cancer 20 years ago, the survival rate was 40 percent. Today, the survival rate of cancer is 70 percent or greater,” said Lovik. “That’s because of the research that we’re doing to find better medicines and earlier ways to detect cancer and procedures to fight cancer.”

Lovik, who has worked for the The American Cancer Society for the last decade, said one out of two men and one third of women will fight cancer at some point in their lives in the United States.

He became part of that statistical group when he was diagnosed with a rare form of stomach cancer three years ago.

“The irony of it was not lost on me,” said Lovik, who was admissions director at Waldorf University and had worked for that Forest City school for 33 years before taking a job with the American Cancer Society.

The cancer survivor said he is doing pretty good now but still experiences numbness in his feet – a side effect of the sixth months of chemotherapy he had at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He also underwent major stomach surgery to correct problems associated with his ailment.

“You’re thankful for every day that you have,” he said.

Lovik said the three key components of the Relay for Life are celebrate, remember and fight back.

“We want to celebrate the lives of people who have survived cancer,” said Lovik.

Lovik lost his mother to breast cancer when he was attending college in his early 20s. Lovik said his mother was only in her mid-50s when she died.

“We remember the lives of the loved ones we’ve lost to cancer,” said Lovik.

The final part of the three-pronged approach done by the Relay for Life to tackle and eliminate cancer will be on full display Friday in Charles City.

Cancer survivors and friends or family members of loved ones who have died because of the disease will be in attendance. Many will walk around the town square – a symbolic gesture to maintain the fight and remain strong in the face of adversity.

“My main message is we want to fight back against cancer so that our children and our grandchildren don’t have to be afraid of the words ‘you have cancer,’” said Lovik.

The format for a lot of the Relay for Life events across the nation has changed considerably. Mostly gone are the day-long relay walks around local high school tracks to raise money, Lovik said. Fundraising is done year-round and many participants will donate to the cause or hold events outside of the actual relay to come up with money that will go to finding a cure.

“It used to be it would go all night. It used to be a 12-hour event at night. Our society has changed so much, we needed to change in order to keep people engaged and connected,” said Lovik. “Almost all of my relay events now are four hours.”

“Going through cancer myself, the American Cancer Society really walks the walk and talks the talk,” said Lovik, who has been a volunteer for the American Cancer Society for almost 40 years.

He said the goal for the Floyd County Relay for Life is $20,000 this year and that total is sitting right around $14,000.

“We feel like we’re in striking distance if we can have a good turnout and have a lot of generosity Friday night,” said Lovik.

An addition to this year will be live music at the relay in Charles City. Performing will be Endless Summer, a 50s and 60s nostalgia band that has entertained northeast Iowa and southern Minnesota for 30 years.

There will be plenty of food, free kids games, a silent auction and luminaries at the event.