Lafayette Journal & Courier

Taking steps toward a cure

By DOROTHY SCHNEIDER
May 1, 2007

When Cheryl Wolf hits the 13.1-mile course Saturday in the Indy Mini-Marathon, she'll be walking for many who could not be there themselves.

Wolf plans to wear 37 purple and violet ribbons, each with the name of a person who either lost their battle with cancer or has survived the disease. The names came from Wolf's family, friends and co-workers who donated money to her local team within the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training.

"When I get to the point of thinking, 'do I really want to go through with this' then I think about what these people are going through," the 62-year-old Lafayette resident said.

Wolf, special needs transportation coordinator for Lafayette School Corp., decided to use this race to raise money for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma research after a co-worker, Kathy Kochell, was diagnosed with an aggressive type of leukemia last October. Another co-worker, Rebecca Bradford, lost her son to the disease.

"If you think about (cancer), there's almost no one who hasn't been touched by it," she added.

Kochell, who's worked as a special needs bus driver for the Lafayette School Corp. for 11 years, praised what Wolf is doing and thanked all of her fellow employees for their support since her diagnosis. She hopes the money raised by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society will help find a cure -- "even if it's not in my time."

Even after three rounds of chemotherapy, Kochell isn't in remission and therefore isn't a good candidate for a bone marrow transplant.

Wolf said Kochell's upbeat attitude throughout her illness has been inspiring.

"You've got to keep positive," Kochell said. "You can't sit around and stew. I know there's people worse off than me. So I say stay positive and keep the Lord on your side."

And while Kochell has found comfort in staying optimistic while battling her leukemia, a Purdue University researched has found cancer survivors may also find tangible benefits from competing in team sports -- if they're healthy enough -- such as the race Wolf is doing this weekend.

Meghan McDonough, an assistant professor of health and kinesiology at Purdue, studied a group of breast cancer survivors competing in canoe racing in Canada and found the women were able to improve their quality of life through the activity. She said the research would likely cross over and apply to survivors of other cancers, but she's hoping to do additional studies.

"Realizing the ability to train, compete and reach a goal is considered very empowering for women who have experienced such a difficult time in their lives," McDonough said. "Not only do they consider themselves survivors, but they also start to think of themselves as athletes and teammates."

Even if they're not physically ready to be part of an exercise team, McDonough said some cancer survivors may find healing in helping organize or run such an event.

"Just working toward a new goal that isn't about being a breast cancer survivor ... a lot of people talk about it being an empowering experience," she said.