Wilmot announces 2016 Wilmot Warrior Walk honorees

UR Medicine’s Wilmot Cancer Institute will honor 29 cancer survivors and caregivers at the fourth annual Wilmot Warrior Walk taking place Sunday, Sept. 11 at the Highland Park Bowl in Rochester.

Earlier this year, the community was invited to nominate cancer survivors or caregivers who have faced cancer as a patient or as a caregiver of a loved one. Honorees demonstrate mental focus and discipline and will be recognized because of the manner in which they dealt with life when confronting a struggle like cancer.

“This year we have the largest class of honorees in the history of the Warrior Walk. These folks are a great representation of the patients we serve at Wilmot with a range of ages, disease types and backgrounds,” says Tiffany Paine-Cirrincione, associate director, Advancement and Community Events for Wilmot Cancer Institute. “It truly highlights how indiscriminate cancer is. We are delighted to honor them this year.”

The 2016 Wilmot Warrior Walk honorees are:

• John Aarne, rectal cancer survivor from Macedon, and Valerie Aarne, his daughter and caregiver
• Kaliee Altrieth, tongue cancer survivor from Avon
• Paul Barden, rectal cancer survivor from Fairport
• Meghan Bauer, acute lymphoblastic lymphoma survivor from Greece
• Jason Buitrago, testicular cancer survivor from Rochester, and Christopher Buitrago, Jason’s husband and caregiver
• Jimmy Catalano, diagnosed with bladder cancer and passed away in 2016
• Walter Chatman, Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor from Rochester
• Frank Colasurdo, lung cancer survivor from Newark
• Mike Crumb, pancreatic cancer survivor from Hilton
• Charleen Davis, breast cancer survivor from Orlando, Florida
• Dennis DeVelder, brain cancer survivor from Chili Center
• Jessica Drexler, colon cancer survivor from Gates
• Eugene Evanitsky, brain cancer survivor from Pittsford
• James Garrity, prostate cancer and lymphoma survivor from Irondequoit
• Mary Georger, caregiver from West Irondequoit
• Lorraine Griggs, caregiver from Webster
• Matthew Hazzard, lymphoma survivor from Cooperstown
• Paris Lanning, caregiver from Greece
• Robert Larter, non-Hodgkins lymphoma survivor from Rochester
• Denise Lazore, from Brockport, survivor of cervical cancer, breast cancer, multiple myeloma and lung cancer
• Olivia Marsh, Ewing’s sarcoma survivor from Brighton
• Steven Pelino, brain cancer survivor from Penfield
• Kevin Rhode, esophageal cancer survivor from Penfield
• Walt Standhart, pancreatic cancer survivor from Greece
• Jacqueline Vaccaro, lacrimal sac (sinus)cancer survivor from Greece
• Willard “Jim” Walker, larynx cancer survivor from Greece
• Jim Walsh, colorectal cancer survivor from Pittsford

The honorees will be recognized at the Wilmot Warrior Walk, which includes a certified 5K, certified 10K and a 1-mile walk. After the races, participants are invited to a celebration that will include live music, bounce houses, food trucks (food available for purchase) and more.

Proceeds from this event will benefit cancer research at Wilmot as well as Wilmot’s Judy DiMarzo Cancer Survivorship Program, which assists those transitioning from active treatment into survivorship. The program provides patients with survivorship care plans and links them with important community resources, among other tasks. 

“The Wilmot Warrior Walk allows us to come together as a community to celebrate life after cancer. Not only will we honor cancer survivors and caregivers, but we’ll also reflect on the lives we’ve lost to cancer,” says Nancy Termer, R.N., B.S.N., Cancer Survivorship Nurse Coordinator with Wilmot's Judy DiMarzo Cancer Survivorship Program. “By participating in the Wilmot Warrior Walk, we all get to be part of helping future cancer survivors and to celebrate not just surviving but surviving well after cancer.”

To learn more or register, visit WarriorWalk.URMC.edu.