One of the most successful annual fundraisers in Pierce County was back in action on Friday, April 1, when the River Falls High School hosted the Relay for Life fundraiser, a community-based fundraising effort to generate funds for cancer research, education and services.

The Friday night event at the high school featured a whole host of fun, games and fundraising opportunities for people of all ages. Some of the events included themed laps on the track, scooter races, large Plinko boards, paper airplane races and a whole host of over ways to get involved and enjoy the night.

Going into that Friday night at the high school, River Falls and surrounding communities had already raised $65,000 of its $75,000 goal for the annual event, with a majority of revenue coming from donations and sponsors for the event.

To generate additional contributions, a spaghetti dinner was available for $10, with proceeds going to the cancer fundraising efforts. Other options to get involved included food trucks and a large silent auction with nearly 100 items available for purchase. Freewill donations were also accepted at the event.

While fun and games were designed to get people excited about the event and the items for purchase were there to generate funds, a significant portion of the night was dedicated to celebrating cancer survivors, supporting those currently battling, and remembering those who have died from the horrible disease.

Perhaps nothing was more moving than the opening ceremony at approximately 6 p.m. when Survivor Honorary Chair Phaedra Raethke spoke about her battle with breast cancer, which began in January of 2018. Raethke detailed her journey of battling cancer as she was honored at the Relay for Life event.

Raethke spoke about how she felt a lump in her right breast on one of those January mornings. Initially, she didn’t think much of it and even tried at-home care for a couple of weeks. After the third week, she decided to seek medical attention.

After calling on a Wednesday, Piper Breast Center got her an appointment the following Monday. At that appointment, they did a mammogram and a biopsy of the bump. The following Wednesday, Raethke got the call that nobody wants to ever receive.

“At about 1:30 in the afternoon, I was at work and I received the dreaded phone call that said, ‘You have cancer,’” Raethke recalled. “I had a complete meltdown, but I had to be strong for the individuals I was with. After that day, I went home and told my family. From that moment, I made a pact that I was going to plow through it, that I didn’t care what tests they had to do, I was going to plow through.”

As Raethke spoke about her experience, she provided more detail about her specific diagnosis. The cancer in her right breast was larger than a golf ball, was stage two, and was triple-negative. She put that diagnosis in layman’s terms for the audience.

“In the cancer world, triplenegative is a very scary one,” Raethke said. “It is the most aggressive and the one that is less responsive to chemotherapy. Regardless of what the studies showed, I wasn’t going to be a bad statistic. I wanted to be a positive.”

Through her battle, Raethke spoke about the highs and the lows and battling cancer. However, at one point in her journey, she spoke about wanting to give up and about the excruciating pain she went through after rounds of chemo. In that dark time, she felt alone because nobody in her care area was the same age – she felt support was waning.

“It was hard for me and I was alone internally, let alone someone who was going through triple-negative,” Raethke said. “That was until a beautiful lady came to me and asked why I was down. I told her I was scared and that I didn’t know my future. She said, ‘Let me take a look at your numbers.’ She proceeded to tell me my numbers were good and that she was a triple-negative survivor herself. From that moment, I knew I was going to be the ultimate warrior and I don’t think she knew how much that meant to me.”

Since battling and defeating cancer approximately two years ago, Raethke has dedicated her time and efforts to support those going through what she once endured. She made sure to credit her care team for supporting her through her battle with breast cancer.

While Raethke was selected as the Survivor Honorary Chair, Amy Jenkins was selected as the Caregiver Honorary Chair. Jenkins’ story was about how cancer impacted her life when her husband Brian was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer.

“My story took a sharp turn in 2009 when my 34-year-old husband Brian was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer,” Jenkins wrote in her Relay for Life bio. “Prior to his diagnosis, we were enjoying our new role as parents to our one-yearold son Finn.”

She detailed other aspects of the journey, which spanned approximately half a decade until the battle took a turn for the worse in 2014. She recalled that time and what those five years of fighting cancer meant to her.

“In 2014, after a courageous five-year battle, Brian passed away and our lives forever changed,” Jenkins wrote. “Throughout those difficult five years, we found strength and hope in the compassion, love and support from others.”

Jenkins detailed how that outpouring of support during one of the darkest moments in her life made her realize what her true calling was – to help those impacted by cancer.

“Because of that (support), I’ve made it my mission to help those impacted by cancer,” Jenkins wrote. “For the past 10 years, my involvement with the Rhino’s Foundation has allowed me to fulfill that mission and honor Brian’s memory by supporting local cancer patients and hospitals.”

After all the speakers had addressed the crowd, all of the survivors in attendance took the first lap around the track together in what was called the survivors’ lap. Supporters of the fundraiser lined the outside of the track and cheered on survivors as they made their way around the gym.

After the survivors had done their opening lap, they were joined by caregivers for the second lap to honor all of those who have assisted in someone else’s battle with cancer. Throughout the night, there were tears of sadness for those lost, and tears of joy for those still here.

Although final calculations are still being done, all indications are that the annual Relay for Life event at the River Falls High School likely reached its $75,000 goal for the 2022 iteration of the fundraiser for cancer research, education and services.

Survivor Honorary Chair for the 2022 Relay for Life event Phaedra Raethke speaks at the podium about her battle with cancer and how it completely changed her life and what she will be doing in the future to help others battling cancer.

Photo by Reagan Hoverman

At the 2022 Relay for Life event at the River Falls High School survivors (wearing purple) entered together as they were celebrated throughout the day’s fundraiser to help fight cancer. Photo by Reagan Hoverman