Stacey Wolfe is walking in memory of her dad.
The Libertyville resident was at Deerfield High School's Adams Field last Friday for Relay for Life's cancer charity walk. One of about 300 people there, Wolfe said she was motivated to attend because both of her parents had died of cancer.
"It offers some serenity," she explained. "It's about trying to make people aware that cancer affects all of us... if more people are aware than, god-willing, one day we won't need to have a Relay for Life."
Wolfe is a member of the Deerfield Optimists Club, one of the 33 teams that participated in Friday's event. Another team, Joanie's Gems, was helmed by Michael Butera and his family and friends. Trudy Bettiker, one of the team's 41 members, had a brain tumor 10 years ago. She was at Friday's event as a survivor.
"We get a lot of people to volunteer and donate their time and money," Butera said.
Butera's mother was Joanie, the team's namesake. She died of breast cancer in 2003.
"To get your family and friends together like this is fantastic," Butera said. "You can't put words to it."
Chicago resident Jen Maltas organized Friday's event. She used to work for Deerfield's Village Manager, and was approached to chair the event. It's her 10th year working on Relay.
Cancer hit home for her as well. Her mother died of breast cancer.
"My mom passed away two years ago," Maltas said on Friday. "Today would have been her 60th birthday."
Maltas said watching her mother struggle with her cancer both inspired her but also made her feel helpless.
"She was fighting the whole time," Maltas said about her mother. "It put her through the ringer."
While she felt like she couldn't do as much to help her mother as she wanted to, Maltas says that Relay for Life offers an opportunity for her to make her mark in the struggle against cancer.
"This is the next step," she said. "It's something you can do to make a difference."
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