Family rocked by cancer stays strong in spirit
The Halls’ participation in Relay For Life, the American Cancer Society’s signature fundraising event, has become a family tradition.
When Dwayne and Mary Hall’s daughter, Adrienne, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996, they whole-heartedly supported her efforts in the first Rockwall/Rowlett Relay For Life in 1998. They encouraged a group of family and friends, including their oldest daughter, Laura, to join their team and worked hard to raise money.
Adrienne had been on drill team and was a cheerleader at Eustace High School. After attending Ranger College for a year, she returned home and went to work at Lake Pointe Medical Centre in the data processing department.
At her place of employment, she had taken a continuing education class that taught the practice of breast self-examinations. While in the shower, Adrienne discovered a lump, which after a doctor’s exam and subsequent mammogram, was determined to be malignant. She had a lumpectomy followed two weeks later by a mastectomy. Her doctor at Texas Oncology said that she was the youngest patient he had ever treated with breast cancer.
Adrienne underwent chemotherapy and radiation, but the cancer metastasized to her back, bones, and brain. Cancer struck the family another blow just one year later when Mary’s mother died from the same type of cancer that Adrienne was battling.
Adrienne was active in Relay until her death in 1999 at the age of 23, even offering her team encouragement from her hospital bed toward the end of her life. The Rockwall/Rowlett Relay For Life in 2000 was held on what would have been Adrienne’s 24th birthday and was dedicated to her life and her involvement in Relay. The Hall family’s team was so large that year that it had to be split into two teams which swept the awards ceremony at Relay, capturing: Most Money Raised by an Individual, Most Money Raised by a Team, and Best Spirit, to name just a few. Adrienne’s sister, Shelley, who was in the Navy, came to join the celebration of her sister’s life.
The family responded to their experience with cancer by becoming well-educated about the disease. Mary, Laura, and Shelley, all went through BRACA testing, and all three women tested negative for the gene. Unfortunately, Mary was diagnosed with breast cancer this past September, has had a mastectomy, and is currently undergoing treatment.
“We were so focused on finding a cure for cancer. Then we stepped away, and cancer reared its ugly head again,” sighed Mary.
The BRACA testing gave the family a false sense of security.
“Since my sister, Shelley, tested negative for the breast cancer gene, she has not been getting mammograms. Now everything we thought we knew just goes out the window,” said Laura. “Adrienne was not much older when she died from breast cancer than my kids are now, so having my mother diagnosed with breast cancer has been very eye-opening to me. It’s like saying “Here we go again,” Laura continued. “It seems so surreal that my daughter is going to have to start having mammograms at the age of 22. My dad’s dad and my mom’s dad both had cancer, so there’s stuff out there we don’t even know about. It’s important to be really educated. I have pages and pages of family history that I’ll be passing on to my children,” Laura concluded.
Cancer detection has made progress, thanks to the American Cancer Society’s efforts. “The doctors told us that the cancer cells found in Mary’s lymph node wouldn’t have been found three years ago. It is only because of the advances in medical technology that it was detected,” said Dwayne. “The best thing about the American Cancer Society is their dedication to education to get the word out to people. Relay is one way they do it. The money they raise for education is of equal if not greater importance to the money they raise for research,” Dwayne stated emphatically.
Laura’s three children who were 13, 9, and 7 years of age during their first Relay are eager to be a part of the family’s 2012 team.
“I posted pictures from our early Relays on-line, and they said they would be here. Two of them are in college in Iowa, so I guess I’d better get them plane tickets! Although it was a difficult time when my sister was sick, my children have sweet memories of their years at Relay,” Laura mentioned.
Laura’s children remember their Aunt Adrienne as being very supportive. More than once, Adrienne would come straight from the hospital, pushing an oxygen tank and head to their sporting events. Laura’s youngest son, who is the quarterback atIowaState, says that he feels Adrienne’s spirit is still with him at his games.
The Hall family is back in the Relay business with this year’s team called “Steppin’ With Friends” which is captained by Mary Hall and her good friend and co-worker David Ballard. David is no stranger to cancer. He is a survivor of pancreatic and prostate cancer and was just diagnosed with liver cancer. The team is excited to participate in Relay again on April 27-28 at Cain Middle School and is determined to win the Spirit Award. Dwayne said, “Once you get everyone together, it’s like a big family with this amazing sense of camaraderie.”
Today, Mary and Dwayne reside in West Tawakoni, Laura lives in Garland, and David calls Farmersville home. All four of them will be out-and-about, recruiting new members and new teams for the 2012 Rockwall County Relay For Life.
As Mary says, “We are always seeking new participants, because there can never be too many! So if we don’t find you, look us up! You will never regret getting involved!”
To donate to the American Cancer Society or to learn more about the Rockwall County Relay For Life, visit .relayforlife.org/rockwalltx.
Written by Mary Thacker; edited for publication by Blue Ribbon News, all rights reserved.
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