Caking: Just Part of Relay for Life's Fundraising Menu

Sue Farrell’s West Hartford home just got “caked.”

No – it was not one of those incidents where chocolate icing ended up splattered on the windowpanes. Caking is part of the fundraising efforts of , and Farrell, a cancer survivor and major fundraiser for the organization, was thrilled to have her yard decorated with a large wooden cake and balloons. Like others around town who have been caked, Farreell will make a donation to Relay for Life to have the decorations removed and planted somewhere else.

Most people are familiar with the American Cancer Society’s tagline: “The Official Sponsor of Birthdays.” West Hartford’s Relay for Life takes that saying one step further, with the motto of “Celebrate, Remember and Fight Back.” The cake is a symbol of that celebration, but its appearance on the Farrell’s lawn this week has several other significant and personal meanings as well.

May 24 is the 14th birthday of Farrell’s daughter Maureen. It is also the anniversary of the hysterectomy that removed Sue Fareell’s uterine cancer exactly five years ago – on her daughter’s ninth birthday.

“It’s the big five – the fifth anniversary. That’s the major milestone everyone looks for,” said Farrell. Her father died two years after his diagnosis of melanoma – after enduring 13 surgeries. There is also a strong history of ovarian cancer in her family; her grandmother and her aunt died of the disease and her mother is now a seven-year survivor.

Farrell and her sister have always been careful. “We’ve been getting checked for ovarian cancer every year and we know to keep an eye on it,” said Farrell. Her diagnosis of uterine cancer, which is not thought to be linked to ovarian cancer, actually came about by accident during another medical procedure.

A tissue sample was biopsied during that other procedure and found to be abnormal. “They told me it was either nothing, pre-cancer, or cancer,” said Farrell, who understandably was frustrated by that diagnosis. When the pathology report following a D&C indicated pre-cancerous cells, she opted for the hysterectomy. “After everything was all out, they determined it was cancer,” she said.

“I didn’t have chemo. It was stage one, slow growing and contained,” said Farrell, who feels so lucky to have caught it early. “I feel so bad for what some people have to go through.”

Farrell is now committed to supporting Relay for Life West Hartford, hoping to do her part to find a cure for cancer. This is her fourth year participating in the event, and the second under the team name “Kathy’s Love Bugs” – named in honor of beloved teacher Kathy Carella, who died of cancer in 2009.

In her first year, Farrell was Relay for Life West Hartford’s top fundraiser, bringing in $2,865. Last year she raised a total of $3,315, and with 12 days to go, she has already raised $3,150 this year – which puts her in fourth place among online fundraising participants. Farrell’s personal goal is to raise $4,000 this year and Relay for Life West Hartford has set $150,000 as its goal.

Caking is just a part of the fundraising menu. Farrell and her team will be participating in Relay for Life on June 4 and 5 at . The event lasts for 21 hours, and includes a survivors lap, luminaria ceremony, and fight back ceremony. As of now, Farrell has seven team members who will join her in the 40 laps she plans to walk around the track.

The event is inspiring, and Farrell says it’s fun, too. “I really like the people on the committee. There are so many survivors, as well as friends and family members who have been impacted by cancer.” She said that survivors who participate in Relay for Life are treated “like royalty.”

The Farrells have a lot to celebrate in addition to Sue’s five-year milestone. Avid UConn basketball fans, they had promised their kids that they would get a kitten and name it Kemba (after Kemba Walker) if UConn won the NCAA championship. Kitten Kemba – now four weeks old and adorable – was rescued from a neighbor’s yard just last week and is happily settled in as the newest member of the family.

For more information or to donate to Relay for Life West Hartford, visit its website.