‘Whatever happens, I’m blessed’: Fort Mill woman’s cancer won’t stop community fight

She spent nearly a decade raising money to fight cancer, before stepping aside to fight cancer herself. Judy LaFoe smiles. The fight continues.

“I was very much afraid that it would not,” LaFoe said.

In 2010, LaFoe and others got the idea to support and celebrate Fort Mill High School teacher Beverly DeMayo, as she finished breast cancer treatments. The idea emerged for a Pink Out at halftime of a junior varsity football game.

“We bought used t-shirts from the baseball team, and we raised like $500,” LaFoe said. “It’s just grown ever since.”

The growth skyrocketed, after partnering in 2013 with the American Cancer Society of the National Football League’s Crucial Catch campaign. The Carolina Panthers have supported efforts at the school.

“Three years ago, we were No. 1 in the nation for donating money through the Crucial Catch, of all the high schools,” DeMayo said. “Two years ago we were No. 1. Last year we weren’t, but we still raised money.”

In 2016, Fort Mill High brought in more than $21,000. It was almost twice as much as the second-place school, in Missouri.

“For the American Cancer Society, we have raised over $65,000 in the past six years,” LaFoe said.

According to the Panthers, schools across the Carolinas in 2017 raised $58,500 through the team’s High School Crucial Catch program. Half of the top 20 fundraising schools nationally in 2016, and three of the top five, came from the Carolinas. Area schools participating last year included Fort Mill and South Pointe High School in Rock Hill.

In a statement from the Panthers last fall, team community relations director Riley Fields praised efforts across two states that will support cancer screenings, education and patient services.

“In addition to raising important funding,” Fields said, “the schools have provided strong messaging about the importance of screenings and created a strong sense of community by honoring those impacted by cancer and celebrating those who have conquered the disease.”

Even with the growth, this year’s Pink Out almost didn’t happen. LaFoe has Stage 4 lung cancer.

“I’m going through treatment,” she said. “I’m doing good. I feel good. I’m not in any pain, but the Pink Out is just a little bit too much for me.”

LaFoe’s son has been out of school for four years, and she doesn’t know the students and parents like she did when Pink Out started. At one point this year, she posted on Facebook how strange it was not gearing up yet for the Pink Out, and said that it may not happen.

“Boom, just line after line, I’ll help, I’ll help, I’ll help,” LaFoe said. “And they all came in, and they took over, and they’re doing a great job.”

LaFoe said she is more than happy to be an advisor, a cheerleader who can watch the event continue. It’s gratifying to see the event she put so much of herself into, having meant so much to others.

“The parents, the students, the faculty, the administration of Fort Mill High School, really supports it,” LaFoe said. “They come out full force.”

DeMayo, now cancer free for seven years, recalls that first event. She knows how the community rallies around someone in need. So others taking the wheel for LaFoe wasn’t a surprise.

“It’s just a community coming together for a cause,” DeMayo said.

The first Pink Out had three people honored at halftime. Several years back, when it was held at a Fort Mill and Nation Ford varsity game, there were about 40 survivors.

DeMayo said there are plenty of reasons people participate. Most of those reasons have names, families, stories not unlike hers and, now, like LaFoe’s.

“Cancer, in any form, has touched just about everybody in today’s day and age,” DeMayo said. “I think it’s just something everybody can relate to.”

Pink Out is held in October each year, the month dedicated to breast cancer awareness. But the event honors survivors of and raises awareness for all types of cancer.

Pink Out events have included, in addition to football games, t-shirt sales and garage sales. There were guest bartending nights. The “Restaurant Wars” have been a big driver, where proceeds from local eateries each October support the cause. This year, signature Pink Out dishes are served at Town Taverne, Greco Fresh Grille, Local Dish, Southern Sugar, Hobo’s, Z Bakery, The Dixie Pig, Nothing Bundt Cakes and Brixx Wood Fire Pizza.

For organizers, the Pink Out football game still holds a special place. This year’s event will be Friday night, as Fort Mill hosts Northwestern High School. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.

For LaFoe, seeing the event continue means plenty. It means as much as the cards and prayers, the favorite McDonald’s Diet Coke that DeMayo brings with each visit.

“I am blessed because the community, the survivors — the warriors, we call them — they’ve all stepped forward and stepped up and supported me,” LaFoe said.

Which helps so much, she said, regardless what happens next.

“I’m blessed,” she said. “Whatever happens, I’m blessed.”

Want to help?

To donate to the Fort Mill High School Pink Out effort, or to learn more about it, visit its Crucial Catch link at crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/fort-mill-high-school