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Participants highlight unified effort

The Multi-County Cancer Support Network’s Walk-A-Thon reached a 30-year milestone Friday in its tradition to unify survivors and their families to win against the disease.

Hundreds attended to march around the track at the old Franklin County High School football stadium as a show of support for those who have survived and to remember those who have succumbed to cancer.

Participants extended their thanks to the Support Network for the difference it has made in cancer victims’ lives through personal and financial support that has helped them move on to the next chapters in their lives.

Trisa Young, a 17-year breast-cancer survivor from Winchester, said she’s been attending the annual Walk-A-Thon for 14 of the years she’s been afflicted with the disease and highlighted what a difference the support means to those who have battled adverse conditions.

“I didn’t realize how many of us go through with this,” she said, referring to battling cancer.

Young said the support the network has given has made a tremendous difference in her ability to cope with the disease.

“They take care of everything that’s needed, and that’s great to know because I needed it bad,” she said. “I appreciate what they’ve done.”

Young then referred to personally participating in the event.

“I’m glad to be able to do this,” she said.

K.O. Robinson, a 21-year prostate cancer survivor from Tullahoma, echoed Young’s assessment.

He said the support the network has given is extremely helpful to cancer victims and their families, and the unity at the Walk-A-Thon is very positive in their efforts to battle the disease.

Robinson said when he was diagnosed with cancer, he took a more positive approach toward dealing with it. He explained that just having the disease is extremely stressful, and he learned to look for the best in a bad situation.

“I didn’t let it get to me,” he said. “If you have it and you worry about it, it will take you down. I didn’t let that happen to me.”

Robinson said it’s great to share in the Walk-A-Thon with other cancer survivors.

“The support is there, and to be here with other survivors lets you know that you can also survive it,” he said.

Former Franklin County Mayor David Alexander attended the event because he is a prostate cancer survivor and said he greatly appreciates what the Support Network has done for cancer victims and their families — namely the unique gesture with financial support which is so greatly needed during such difficult times.

“I don’t know of any other organization that does that,” he said.

Alexander said he’s attended the event since the 1990s when Jean and Vern Katt were instrumental in making the event a success that has benefitted so many who were affected by cancer.

Alexander said the Katts’ tradition has continued to the present day, and the Support Network continues on in their legacy.

“They help where it’s desperately needed,” he said, referring to the network’s financial aid. “This is such a worthwhile organization.”

And reaching three decades in the effort is nothing to take lightly, he added.

“Thirty years is quite a milestone,” Alexander said, referring to all the cancer survivors who have benefited from the effort during the past three decades.

Peggy Sanson, a Decherd resident who has been battling a form of lung cancer, said the network has made a difference in her life.

“You get to come out and see you’re not all by yourself,” she said. “It shows you that there are others who have been through the same thing.”

Dorothy Buck, a uterine cancer survivor from Monteagle, said she’s a newcomer to the event after being diagnosed with the disease in 2021.

“I’m glad I’m walking in this tonight,” she said, adding that the effort supports the Material Girls Quilt Guild which in turn supports the network through handmade-quilt raffles. “Participating in this is very important, and I think it’s a wonderful event.”

Judy Wofford, a leukemia survivor from Cowan, said she appreciates what the Walk-A-Thon signifies for cancer survivors and was thankful to be participating in Friday’s event.

She explained that she had attended the Walk-A-Thon two decades ago as part a Winchester city-sponsored effort, and after being diagnosed with cancer two years ago, it means all the more to participate in it now.

Mrs. Wofford said her disease has since gone into remission, and she and husband Carey Wofford are optimistic it will stay that way.

Carey, who was attending on his wife’s behalf, said the Walk-A-Thon draws attention to the cause and promotes fundraising that benefits cancer victims who are going through such difficult times. He added that it’s an extremely worthwhile cause.

Carol Davis, the network’s vice president, summed up the organization’s focus toward helping cancer victims.

“God put us here for this, and that’s what we strive to do,” she said.