Cancer survivors' celebration marks 25 years

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Michelle Shaffer and her friend Cindy Miller were looking for a different way to honor their cancer patients.

The co-workers at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at John P. Murtha Pavilion, 337 Somerset St., Johnstown, learned about National Cancer Survivors Day, celebrated every year on the first Sunday of June.

“Cindy saw an advertisement in a magazine and said, ‘This looks like something we could do,’ ” Shaffer recalled.

That was 1997. This year’s 25th Annual National Cancer Survivors Day celebration will be celebrated from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 2 at the Johnstown Masonic Temple, 130 Valley Pike.

The event is free for cancer survivors and one guest each.

Registration is required by Monday at 814-244-7701.

The event has undergone many changes since that first year, when Shaffer and Miller rallied friends and contacted then-U.S. Rep. John Murtha, who arranged for the event to be held at The Ridge recreation area in tents from the Army Reserve Center, 295 Goucher St.

A member of the Harley Owners Group of Johnstown, Shaffer organized a Harley-Davidson giveaway dinner, which has funded the cancer survivors’ event ever since. Additional funds are donated to cancer programs at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center, UPMC Hillman and Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber.

The weather wasn’t kind to the Army Reserve tents at The Ridge, so the event was eventually moved to Windber Recreation Park’s ballroom. Again, rain blowing into the pre-renovations ballroom dampened the experience, so the venue was again changed to the Masonic Temple, Shaffer said.

Attendance has been around 300 people a year, except for a few early years when the Johns-town Area Cancer Survivors organization was able to invite patients individually through their doctors’ offices before privacy concerns were raised.

“We have a luncheon, DJ Hammer and door prizes,” Shaffer said. “We want it to be a fun day to forget about treatments, tests and diagnoses.”

The event is open to anyone living with a history of cancer – from the moment of diagnosis through the remainder of life, as defined by the National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation.

“This day provides an opportunity for all people living with a history of cancer – including America’s more than 18 million cancer survivors – to connect with each other, celebrate milestones, and recognize those who have supported them along the way,” Shaffer said.