The 2019 Cancer Association of Champaign County (CACC) calendars are now available for purchase – just in time for the holidays.
Each month of the calendar tells a story of local cancer patients’ personal journeys. Through patients’ willingness to be profiled and surviving families’ desire to memorialize loved ones, the 2019 calendar has several personal stories of survivorship and appreciation for life, as well as memorials for some who fought the disease and lived life to their fullest abilities. The calendar costs $10.
Two specific survivors profiled in the 2019 calendar show the depth and breadth of support the CACC provides to local cancer patients of all ages and characteristics.
Jordan Hux
On October 6, 2017, Jordan Hux was diagnosed with Stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma-breast cancer at the age of 22 years old after finding the lump herself. “Without my self-breast exams, the staging could have been way worse and my outcome could have been completely different,” Hux wrote for her calendar profile. “A month after I was diagnosed, I underwent a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction. My thought process was if I got it this young, it is coming back and I wanted to reduce the chance of that occurring as much as I could. In January I began chemotherapy and received a total of four treatments. Since finishing chemotherapy in March, I have been adjusting to my new ‘normal.’ I’m currently working at OSU, back at school pursuing my dream of becoming a nurse and on track to graduate in December of 2019. I’m extremely happy, healthy and grateful! The nasty ‘c’ word doesn’t discriminate – make yourself and your health a priority by being in tune with your body and performing self-breast exams.”
Ron Roosa
Ron Roosa was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in February 2016. “My first course of treatment was to have seven chemotherapy treatments. One every three weeks until complete,” Roosa wrote for the calendar. “Once my treatment started, my mother-in-law put me in contact with the Cancer Association of Champaign County. They sent me a packet of information. They also let me know of ways they could help me when I was really struggling with the day in and day out things in my life and my family’s affairs. I had a lot of dehydration and nausea with the treatment. I also lost most of my hair, but I was grateful for everything I had been through. When the chemotherapy was close to being over, I started 35 rounds of radiation at the Springfield Regional Cancer Center. I was given one treatment Monday-Friday for seven weeks. After my treatments were over, I got another oncologist, Dr. Robert Rupert. He ordered four more chemos and in my opinion is when I turned a corner in my cancer journey. It has been a long, slow recovery, but I am better every day. I am very grateful and thankful to all my family and friends who have helped me get through this. I could not have done this alone.”
Local businesses do their part to help create the annual calendar and defray production expenses to allow as much revenue as possible to be retained and distributed by the CACC to patients in need.
“This production would not be possible without the generous support of local businesses,” said Brett Evilsizor, acting director of the Cancer Association of Champaign County.
Those businesses making the calendar financially possible are: HER Realtors, The Village Pharmacy, Char’s Market & Kitchen, International Harvester Credit Union, Perpetual Federal Savings Bank, The Champaign Dental Group, Thornton’s Carpet & Interiors, All Star Storage, Mad River Farm Market, Willman Furniture Co., Peoples Savings Bank, Dave Kehl Chevrolet, Marathon of Urbana, The Depot, St. Paris Pharmacy and Boldman Printing. Through their contribution, 100 percent of funds raised through calendar sales will go to providing support to cancer patients living in Champaign County.
The calendars are usually distributed during the Candlelight Tour of Homes (which was replaced this year by the Candlelight Walk in downtown Urbana), as well as being sold throughout the county. This year the calendars can be purchased at these locations: Mad River Farm Market, The Depot, Oxner’s General Store, Teabaggers, The Village Pharmacy, Fruit Salad, Kaleidoscope, Perpetual Federal Savings Bank, YMCA, Char’s Market & Kitchen, Peoples Savings Banks, Lily’s Garden, Civista Bank and White’s Ford.
“A special thanks to Amy Jumper, the Hair Closet and Makeup by Mykela for making our calendar participants look and feel great,” Evilsizor said. “Amy and Mykela have been helpful in beautification prior to pictures being taken (for those who were local and chose to receive their services).”
