Survivors of cancer celebrate team’s victory

Saturday, May 29, 1999 | 10:25 a.m.

It's a celebration of life for those who have lived with the fear of death. It's a day in the park or an afternoon of comedy and speeches surrounded by those who serve as a beacon of hope for others.

The message: Cancer is no longer a death sentence.

Hundreds of cancer survivors and their families participate on June 6 in Las Vegas' fifth "A Celebration of Life," a cancer survivors day of celebration.

As the world's largest cancer-survivor event, the nationwide celebration is held in more than 700 communities on the first Sunday in June.

"It's to spread the word that there is life after cancer and it's not a death sentence," Tanya Turner, national coordinator of the event, said. Nationally, the event is in its 12th year.

"The doctors and nurses and patients come together," she said. The the awareness helps to calm fears that many have and to encourage early diagnosis, she added.

There are an estimated 8.2 million Americans living with cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.

With new technologies for early diagnosis, treatments made available and a more heightened awareness for people to get screenings, the survival rates are increasing, Dr. Arnold Wax, oncologist and Sunrise Hospital chief of staff, said.

"Looking at the rates in the '70s and '90s, there is clearly a difference," he said.

Wax, who is a 15-year cancer survivor, will be the master of ceremonies at Sunrise Hospital's event. This is his third year as emcee.

The message is "how to keep going, how to get through it," Wax said. "You gotta have a sense of humor in life. Without a sense of humor you don't get through it."

In addition to Wax, other health care specialists will display their talents. Dr. Edward Kingsley, a fellow oncologist, will perform a piano solo, and a registered nurse plans to amuse the audience with her stand-up comedy routine.

"Its shows we have the human side," Wax said. "They see us in a whole different light."

Joining them will be speakers Jerald Mitchell, president and CEO of Sunrise, and Dr. Armando Miciano from the Center for Cancer Rehabilitation.

Keynote speaker will be Beverly Katherine Kirkhart, a breast cancer survivor and publicist for "Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul," contains personal stories from more than 100 cancer survivors.

Kirkhart overcame a business loss, bankruptcy and divorce after her cancer diagnosis five years ago.

She is one of many who serves as an inspiration for others, Pam Morrisey, Sunrise cancer program director, said.

"Cancer survivors are a great comfort for the newly diagnosed," Morrisey said. "When you see people around you who have survived for five to 10 years and you're in your first year, you realize it's not an automatic death sentence.

"There is more treatment than was out there even last year with new chemo and drugs. People aren't aware how much research has changed."

Although the event is geared toward survivors, the celebration is for everyone involved.

Dealing with cancer is a team effort of the doctors, patients and their families. "It's a big team that gets the patient through the crisis in their life," she said.

"We have fun," Morrisey said about the event. "It's an upbeat positive thing."