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Survival has many different stages for participants in annual Celebration of Life Walk
- Mark Sabbatini
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
Some cherish many years of health following cancer treatment, some seek to do as much as they can despite lasting impairments, some struggle to cope with relapses and new diagnoses
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Surviving five years after cancer treatment is frequently a milestone for people, celebrated because it often indicates a significantly lower risk of recurrence. But Natalie Sasser, after six years of clean tests following her first battle with cancer, was diagnosed with a brain tumor on March 3.
Sasser and her husband, Ed, a disabled veteran who recovered from kidney cancer a decade ago, were among about 40 people participating in an annual Celebration of Life Walk in downtown Juneau on Sunday. Both said they’ve been active during their 40 years in Juneau and intend to remain so despite the limits and setbacks suffered.
"You go through and you did all these treatments, you did all this stuff — buying a scooter — and then they said, ‘Oh yeah, well, we really can't do anything at this point anymore,’" Natalie Sasser said. "We're not going to stop. We're going to keep on looking."
She said the biggest adjustment for her has been mobility since "I used to walk a lot and bicycle around, and I don’t do that anymore" because she now uses her scooter to get around.
She and her husband were near the back of the procession that started at Sealaska Plaza, went down Egan Drive past Gold Creek, then were met by bagpipers for the final stretch along the Totem Pole Trail to Bill Overstreet Park. Many of the participants had paper hearts pinned to their clothing with the names of family and friends who were lost to cancer.
At the entrance to the park the couple, along with others diagnosed with cancer and who survived, rang a bell as symbolic recognition of that feat. They were met at the park by the Yées Ḵu.Oo Dancers who, after performing a few songs, invited those from the procession to participate in a finale just before participants gathered at the park’s shelter for a cookout.
"There’s an interesting mix of people here," Ed Sasser said. "There’s people remembering loved ones with the hearts, people who are in the middle of treatment, there are people who are done with treatment, and then you talk to a fair number of people who are 24/7 caregivers who are impacted."
Many of the other participants described wide-ranging variations of the "new normal" they and loved ones are experiencing following a cancer diagnosis.
Angela Miller, diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and again in 2021 despite being told odds of a recurrence were low, said the extensive treatment she received essentially "destroyed my digestive system," imposing limits on activities she once pursued.
"It's a very small percentage of people who end up in a situation like me, but we're still out there, it still happens and it's unfortunate," she said.
Miller, who participated in her first Celebration of Life Walk two years ago, and her husband, Matt, said a key part of their support network is the people met through Cancer Connection of Southeast Alaska, a nonprofit that organizes the event as well as the annual Beat the Odds: A Race Against Cancer each summer.
"When I was going through treatment and surgery, they paid for Matt and I to fly twice to Seattle, because I had to have two surgeries," she said.
Lin Davis, who was diagnosed with leukemia a year and a half ago, also said community support has been a key element in her trying to move forward.
"As Dan Henry says — he’s a writer up in Haines — it’s like getting an advanced degree in kindness," she said. "It really opens the heart. I think people are very open to you when you get cancer, and it's actually lovely and it's full of goodness."
But a struggle both emotionally and practically was described by Crystal Barnett, whose husband, Robert Buell, was diagnosed with lung cancer and advanced emphysema in April. She said both of them were employed, but now neither is as the couple tries to cope with the demands his treatment requires and the challenge of trying to pay those costs through fundraising efforts — which to date are far short of the amounts needed.
"We went from two hard-working, normal individuals to this has devastated our entire life," she said.
Sheryl Weinberg, president of Cancer Connection’s board, told participants at the beginning of the event the organization is seeking to expand its assistance beyond an apartment in Seattle for people receiving treatment there and monthly support meetings here in Juneau. She said there was a first-ever caregiver retreat this year and a program called Let’s Talk has been revitalized.
"Let's Talk is a peer-to-peer mentoring program for those who are at any point on their cancer journey who want to speak to somebody who's walked in their shoes," she said. "In addition to that we have other things that come up through the year, and we have requests and we try to honor those requests for support."
Weinberg also introduced Christy Ciambor as Cancer Connection’s first-ever executive director. Ciambor, while carrying the organization’s banner at the front of the walk along with board member Jo Gladden, said she was interested in service because "they were incredibly helpful when I had a friend going through cancer."
"And then when my own mom was diagnosed, she lived back east, I can't tell you how many times I was like, ‘Gosh, I wish there was something like a Cancer Connection where she was living because it makes such a difference to have that," she said. "Somebody local, somebody who knows, somebody who's giving you direction. There's so much that happens when you're diagnosed, like right away, and it’s overwhelming."
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
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