Cancer Survivors' Day - June 3rd May 30, 2006 14th Annual Cancer Survivors' Day Is Saturday, June 3

Very few of us have not been touched by the effects of cancer-either we experience the disease first hand or know friends or loved ones who have. To celebrate those who have overcome cancer and to honor those who did not, Catawba Valley Medical Center (CVMC) will sponsor the fourteenth annual Cancer Survivors' Day Celebration on Saturday, June 3 at Catawba Valley Community College's Multipurpose Complex. While the doors will open at 1:00 p.m. for registration, exhibits, games and fellowship, the program begins at 2:00 p.m. In keeping with this year's theme of NASCAR racing, the event is entitled "Surviving the Race" and will include entertainment by "Cheer Up & Live" with Crystal Dixon and Lisa Corpening. The annual Cancer Survivors' Day event is sponsored by the Catawba Valley Cancer Control Network (CVCCN) with funding by CVMC, Catawba Medical Foundation and Frye Regional Medical Center. Hal Rowe from WHKY will serve as master of ceremonies for the event with breast cancer survivor Connie Russell as guest speaker. Survivors, their families and friends will also be treated to light refreshments, door prizes and helpful information. In addition, survivors may contribute to a memorial wall hanging that will be displayed annually. Through the National Cancer Survivors' Day Foundation, this local Cancer Survivors' Day celebration will be part of the World's Largest Cancer Survivor Event. Thousands of people in more than 700 communities across the country will participate. "It's the time of the year that we pause to honor all the people with a history of cancer, including America's 10 million cancer survivors," said Peggy Messick, chair of CVCCN. "So many people consider cancer a death sentence but more than 50% of people who are diagnosed with cancer will still be alive five years later. We want the public to know people not only survive cancer, but they thrive. Many survivors live productive lives, get married, have children, and retire to Florida." Cancer survivor Gary Skinner shared, "I feel that I am blessed to have had cancer because of all the many wonderful people that I have had the pleasure to meet in the past fourteen years in my association with cancer survivors." To learn more about the event, please contact Ms. Messick at CVMC at 828-326-3127. Catawba Valley Medical Center is a not-for-profit, public healthcare system providing and promoting the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being of the public in addition to serving as a center for health education, wellness services, preventative medicine and acute care. CVMC, recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Magnet facility, was recently named a Hospital of Choice by the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers.