Cancer survivors and supporters walk to find a cure at Rock Hill Relay For Life

Five-year-old Gabriel Whisonant walked among survivors Saturday. He walked hand-in-hand with his grandmother, who has cancer, and great-grandmother, who survived cancer.

He walked to honor his mother, who did not survive cancer. Nor did his grandparents.

Gabriel strolled with his family during the Survivor’s Walk at the American Red Cross Relay For Life fundraiser at Dutchman Creek Middle School on Saturday, ending the lap with a sprint to the finish line through a crowd of clapping cheerleaders and into the arms of his aunt Ciara Stegall.

His grandmother Jane Stegall, who is battling ovarian cancer and wearing a hat to cover her head, and cancer surviving great-grandmother Mary Pfirman slowly made their way through the cheering crowd.

“It’s been a really hard year-and-a-half,” Jane Stegall said after the walk.

Her daughter — Gabriel’s mother — Tara Stegall died last October after battling osteogenic sarcoma. The 27-year-old also suffered bone cancer when she was 14.

“We have got to find a cure,” Stegall said. “It’s running rampant.”

At Relay For Life on Saturday, members from the roughly 40 teams in the York East division, took turns walking around the track — some crying and some holding hands — to show support for those fighting the disease, others celebrating a cancer-free diagnosis, and those grieving the loss of others to the disease.

Throughout the year, the teams from Rock Hill and Fort Mill raised money through donations and events, leading up to Saturday’s Relay For Life, the American Cancer Society’s largest fundraiser.

The goal this year is to raise $68,000 by the end of August, said event co-chairman Nancy Greene, who is also a cancer survivor. Before Saturday’s event, the teams had raised more than half through individual fundraisers and donations, she said.

Before she learned of her illness at age 44, Greene was already walking laps at Relay For Life after losing church members and friends to cancer.

“It was one right after the other, it seemed,” Greene said.

Then she found out about her own thyroid cancer. After receiving treatment, the cancer disappeared. Six years later, she battled breast cancer and the thyroid cancer returned just last year. Today, she is cancer-free.

“When I was diagnosed, I just jumped in full force,” she said.

In 2016, the American Cancer Society predicts nearly 1.7 million people will be diagnosed with the disease. More than 595,000 will die, according its annual report.

The money the organization receives from fundraisers and donations will go to research and community programs for patients, Greene said.

In Rock Hill, part of the money will help fund programs at Piedmont Medical Center, said event co-chairman Dian McDermott.

At Piedmont, Road to Recovery helps cancer patients get rides to and from appointments. Reach to Recovery offers patient support from women who have survived breast cancer.

The Look Good Feel Better program provides wigs and scarves to women who have lost their hair due to chemo therapy and instruction on how to apply makeup when they have lost their eyebrows, McDermott said.

The 70-year-old Rock Hill resident understands the effects of chemo. After receiving a diagnosis of breast cancer nearly 18 years ago, she took part in the Survivor’s Walk after receiving her first treatment.

A friend asked McDermott to join her in the walk, but she didn’t feel like she fit the criteria.

“I said ‘I’m not a survivor’ and she said ‘yes, you are, too,’ ” she said. “I was very emotional; I cried the whole walk.”

Other than the tears some shed during the Survivor’s Walk, the crowd did not appear to be grieving, but happy watching dozens of cheerleaders in ponytails and giant bows perform back handsprings and daring stunts. Battling cancer was not on the agenda — celebrating life was.

Throughout the 8-hour event, walkers stayed on the track, cheerleaders and a magician performed, children played on inflatables and luminaries honored survivors and remembered those who lost their battles.

Other Relay For Life events across York, Chester and Lancaster counties have brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the American Cancer Society.

Teams from Western York County raised nearly $90,000, Chester County raised more than $50,000 and Lancaster County raised more than $165,000, according to information on the Relay For Life website.

For Jane Stegall, beating the cancer means her grandson will not have to bear losing more family. Gabriel understands more than she realized, she said, after he started asking questions when her hair began falling out, just like his mother’s did.

For now, Stegall is just trying to keep life normal for the small child and helping him to understand, she said. Gabriel asked if he could ride in an airplane through the clouds to visit his mom. Stegall said one day, they would both see her again.

This story was originally published May 14, 2016 at 7:49 PM with the headline "Cancer survivors and supporters walk to find a cure at Rock Hill Relay For Life."