”
It was 4 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2003
– the moment is emblazoned in my mind,
”
Debbi Sanchez said. That was the moment when Sanchez’ doctor
informed her that she had breast cancer. She was only 37 years
old.
“It was 4 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2003 – the moment is emblazoned in my mind,” Debbi Sanchez said.
That was the moment when Sanchez’ doctor informed her that she had breast cancer. She was only 37 years old.
“I found a lump during a self-exam, but I was told I was too young to get a mammogram. I was hoping it was nothing.”
Sanchez had waited several months before getting the diagnostic test she needed. Fortunately for her, she didn’t wait any longer.
“It was the weirdest conversation I ever had with a doctor. I didn’t know what to say when he gave me the news that I had breast cancer, so I just thanked him. When you hear the word ‘cancer,’ you think the worst,” she said. “When I called the American Cancer Society for help, and they told me I was a survivor, it just blew me away to hear that word.”
“Survivor doesn’t do it justice,” Mike Sanchez said. “My wife’s a fighter, a warrior, a champion. This isn’t just a fight in the physical sense. It’s an emotional and a spiritual fight.”
Debbi and Mike Sanchez are lifelong Gilroyans who have evolved into volunteers extraordinaire, organizers of Gilroy’s annual participation in the national Relay For Life event, which raises more than $100,000 every year for the American Cancer Society.
Relay For Life is a fun-filled overnight walk designed to celebrate those who have survived cancer, as well as to raise money to fund the search for cures, improved treatments, and patient advocacy, education, support services and awareness programs. During the event, teams gather at Christmas Hill Park and take turns walking or running laps. Each team tries to keep at least one team member on the track at all times.
Much more than a walk around a track, the Relay is a time to celebrate those who have battled cancer, to remember those lost and to get inspired to fight back. “Celebrate, Remember, Fight Back” is this year’s mantra. Gilroy’s Relay For Life Team has the goal of forming 70 teams with 800 participants in this year’s event.
“It takes a team to do this – you can’t make it alone,” Debbi Sanchez emphasized.
The very first year she had cancer, she became a team captain in Gilroy’s Relay for Life.
“It was tiring, but the first time I got to walk a lap with all those survivors, I knew then that I wasn’t alone,” she said, tearing up at the memory as Mike reached to take her hand.
“It’s so hard seeing someone you love suffering,” he said. “I’m supposed to be her protector, and I couldn’t do anything. Fortunately, I had good friends who let me freak out with them. You’re stunned – you lean into it and hope that when you step there’s still going to be ground there beneath your feet.”
At the closing ceremony, 2003 event chairman Gabriel Nino called Debbi up to give an impromptu speech. She has no idea what she said that day, but she remembers a lot of people crying and the impact of seeing all those people there in support.
After that first year, Debbi served as the survivor co-chair for three years and has chaired the entire event the last two years. Mike has coordinated communications while emceeing at the Relays. He has served as entertainment chair for four years and is in charge of it again this year.
“It’s a package deal,” Mike explained. “We’re a team.”
According to Jenn Van Gundy, media chair for this year’s event, Mike and Debbi Sanchez have built an incredible resource of support and encouragement for anyone whose life is being affected by cancer directly or indirectly.
This year’s team captain hides her cancer fight from no one. Survivor Peggy Springgay walks the track in a neon pink wig.
“Peggy is phenomenal in the way she empowers her team members to do fundraising and take ownership,” Debbi Sanchez said. “The teams are encouraged to take it upon themselves to raise funds for Relay For Life. On April 18 there will be a golf tournament at Gilroy Golf Course and April 24 there will be a dinner at Village Green, both benefiting the Relay.”
Gilroy’s 12th year of participating in the Relay shines a light on some of Gilroy’s finest young people as well. Teenager Chris Cortez is serving as activities chair. Thirteen-year-old Justin Jeske has singlehandedly put a team together.
“We have the most energetic and creative group I’ve ever worked with,” Debbi praised this year’s Relay committee. “These 26 people are so multi-talented, diverse, on their game and full of energy. And the free flow of ideas that this promises to be our best Relay ever. This teamwork is what it’s all about.”
“I am involved in Relay because my grandmother passed away from lung cancer along with my cousin Diane,” Katie Lucio said, chair of survivor activities. “The first time I heard about cancer was when a friend in second grade passed away. I Relay because I never want my daughter to have to worry about cancer.”
This year alone 142,070 people will hear the dreaded words “You have cancer.” One in three Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in our lifetimes. Mike and Debbi Sanchez aim to challenge such statistics.
“It comes down to this: are you willing to give up 24 hours of your time for someone who’s battling cancer?” Debbi Sanchez asks. “A cancer patient deals with a 24-hour-a-day struggle. Can you get out of your comfort zone to join in the fight for one day?”
“This year’s Relay is going to be bigger than ever because of the Sanchez’ aggressive passion to see Relay for Life become such a positive force in Gilroy,” Van Gundy said.
“If our work for the Relay can help one person who dials (800) 227-2345 to find a soothing and compassionate voice on the other end, someone who can answer questions, give good health information, and make someone feel more secure in handling their situation, then it’s worth it,” Debbie Sanchez said. “If we can help save one person, it’s worth it. Our goal is to raise $130,000 in this Relay, but the truth is, teaching awareness is our goal. If we can spare someone from hearing the words, ‘You’ve got cancer,’ that’s the true prize.”
“There’s no need to battle this thing on your own when there is a fierce family team of Gilroy community members working to attack it from every angle,” Van Gundy said. “It’s inspiring the see them in action because they have turned what could have been a devastating life event into a source of comfort and support for the community.”
Why I Walk
By Nan Madruga, Aromas resident and Relay For Life volunteer
She lay in her hospital bed in the center of the living room;
Even now I find that symbolic.
As far as dad and I were concerned she always was the center.
I WANTED to walk, but my knees lost their courage.
I held her hand, with dad, as her own courage carried her away from us,
and closer to her peace.
Her last breath took with it the ability for me to take a deep one
For the last 21 years.
I want to walk, and find her sitting in her chair,
and ask her if she’s proud of me,
kneel at her side while she brushes the hair out of my face,
and the throbbing pain from my heart.
But her chair stays empty.
SO I WALK
and fake that deep breath,
and celebrate the life she has left within me.
I now smile her smile;
I see her face in my reflection,
AND I WALK,
hoping that each step, and each donated dollar, brings us closer to a cure
for mom, who once walked beside me.
I WALK FOR HER
and those in their own battle now,
Who never want to walk alone.
2009 Relay For Life
The 2009 Relay For Life will be held from 6 p.m.
June 19 through 6 p.m. June 20
For more info, go to www.relayforlife.org/gilroyca
To participate in the Relay For Life or sponsor
someone who is, call Mike and Debbi Sanchez at 857-4794 or contact sponsorship chair, Jim Buessing, at bu******@*****er.net
