Flying on wings of hope

Article by Holly van Slamsbrook, Correspondent

Published: Saturday, June 10, 2000 in The Indianapolis Star
© 2000 Indianapolis Newspapers, Inc.

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Three short years ago, Cathy Wolfe would not have thought of becoming a monarch butterfly breeder.

The young Noblesville mother was busy caring for her 2-year-old son, running a day-care program out of her home and enjoying being pregnant with her second child.

Then Cathy, just 25 years old, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Fourteen weeks pregnant, she underwent surgery to remove three cantaloupe-size tumors. Six months later, she delivered a healthy boy.

When the cancer recurred after Johnathan Thomas's birth, doctors performed a successful hysterectomy.

Now 28, Wolfe heads Hamilton County's Relay for Life, a nationwide fund-raising and community-awareness event sponsored by the American Cancer Society.

Helping other people, she says, has helped her recover.

"If my story affects even one person, then it's worth sharing."

Relay for Life is a 24-hour event held in a track setting. The two sites in the Metro North area are in Hamilton County at Carmel High School and at Boone County at Zionsville High School. Both events will be June 16-17, beginning at 7 p.m. Friday.

Relay teams in both counties are composed of 10-15 people. Members take turns walking or running around the track, so the team is continuously participating during the 24-hour period.

Wolfe started speaking to interested groups about her cancer experience two years ago. The Community Hospital staff had bonded with the young mother during her cancer treatment and knew her story would help other patients.

Then her brother designed a candle the Cancer Society sells as a fund-raiser. Cathy Wolfe makes them by hand in an Indianapolis shop, sometimes working late into the night to meet orders.

Raising monarch butterflies is the latest step on her personal road to recovery and part of her plan for this year's relay.

Monarch butterflies, the ancient Indian legend goes, can convey wishes to the Great Spirit that cannot be heard on earth. They will be released during opening ceremonies at Hamilton County's relay as a symbolic gesture of hope.

Wolfe and her husband, Pat, are members of the International Butterfly Breeders Association. They raise monarchs in their home and offer them for nonprofit release to groups like the Cancer Society.

They've named their home breeding effort SunDance Butterfly Ranch.

"We've always liked butterflies," Cathy Wolfe said. "To us, they are natural symbols of hope that can uplift and encourage families facing difficult circumstances."

Last year, Relay for Life was held in 2,500 communities nationally and raised $127 million, one-third of the Cancer Society's total budget. Indiana volunteers raised $3.1 million at 76 sites -- $11,000 in Hamilton and $10,000 in Boone.

Organizers plan to surpass those numbers this year. Hamilton County donations were way ahead of schedule two weeks before the event, Wolfe says, and Boone County organizers hope to increase their county's numbers to $25,000.

Proceeds are used for cancer research, educational programs, early detection programs and local patient services.

"One in three people will be touched by cancer", said Boone County co-chairwoman Sherry Keene. "We want to raise awareness so the community sees that the ACS (Cancer Society) uses this money to try to stop the disease."

The Hamilton and Boone relays share common goals, but will feature local touches.

Boone County is planning a pancake breakfast, an alternative walk through a Zionsville subdivision for residents who are not part of a relay team, and performances at the track by 19-year-old country singer and Lebanon resident Amy Crawford. Tom Carnegie, voice of the Indianapolis 500, will announce the relay's start.

Hamilton County's event will feature the monarch butterfly release, an open microphone for cancer survivors to share their stories and a marketplace staffed by representatives from Mary Kay Cosmetics, Longaberger Baskets and others.

Both counties are planning luminaria ceremonies at 10 p.m. Friday, when more than 1,000 candles will be lighted as wishes to cancer survivors or memorials to victims. In Boone County, they will line the track and spell out the phrase "Hope and Cure" in the stands.

Both groups will begin their events with a survivors' lap. Last year, more than 250,000 survivors walked that lap nationwide.

Many of last year's participants in both counties are returning for this year's relay. Once you've experienced the event, they say, you're hooked.

Like Melissa Cawi of Zionsville, they got involved because people in their own families were dealing with cancer.

"Some survived, and some did not," she said. "This event was close to my heart, and it turned out to be a good, fun social time, good for my health and good for the community."

For Cathy Wolfe, being involved in Relay for Life is one more way to recover.

There's a feeling, she says, that she has experienced as a survivor, and she believes many cancer patients have shared.

"Sometimes it's hard to understand why you survived, and some other people didn't," she said. "There are so many feelings and emotions, and you just want to reach out.

"That's why I want to have an open microphone during the relay. People who want to speak deserve to have their stories told. They need to share their struggles, triumphs, and tragedies."

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© 2000 Indianapolis Newspapers, Inc.