Laughter and tears, joy and triumph and sadness mingled Sunday afternoon during the 19th Annual National Cancer Survivors' Day Picnic.
Drawing more than 200 attendees to the grounds of Building 50, the picnic featured music, food and friendship as together survivors and their families celebrated life. Two oversized white tents were silhouetted by the brilliant blue sky as attendees packed tables underneath to share stories and memories.
"I think this is really nice," said Pam Hayes of Gaylord attending her first survivors' picnic. "I'm glad I came because I got to see all the nurses who took care of me, they are really caring and compassionate."
Alice Smith of Traverse City watched cancer take the lives of her husband and three sisters. A cancer survivor who is facing additional treatment this summer, she missed last year's picnic due to ill health but was glad to be back on Sunday.
"I like seeing the other survivors and seeing other people giving to it," she said. "They are looking to enjoy life as best they can for as long as they can because nobody really knows for sure."
Survivors' Day Picnic attendees at the picnic eagerly greeted friends made in treatment rooms and support groups, happy to see people who beat cancer for another year.
"You see the same faces over and over again and that's good — they made it another year," said Smith. "Because I know we're all in the same boat, it makes it all the more important to me."
Members of Heart to Harp played for the group and a closing ceremony featured the release of white doves as a sign of hope and healing. A drawing that lasted nearly an hour doled out dozens of donated gifts to attendees, who took home everything from a microwave to artwork to plants.
Many nurses who work in cancer treatment volunteer their time every year to help at the picnic. They come on their day off to pitch in with everything from set up, food service, the raffle and clean up.
"We're all here to help celebrate, this is for all the wonderful people here and all cancer survivors get a ticket," said Sharon Largent, a nurse at the Biederman Cancer Center. "It's a pretty good turnout."
Jane Rolf, an R.N. who serves as the Breast Health Services Coordinator for Munson Medical Center, was volunteering at her fifth survivors' picnic. Fielding hugs and appreciation, she had a lot of patients on hand to celebrate with. Rolf noted that cancer survivors have a special bond that someone who has not been through the experience may not understand.
"It's a feel good thing, too, here," she said.
Relaxing in the bright sunshine after lunch, Dr. David Gordon reflected on his long career as a medical oncologist. Noting that historically a cancer diagnosis meant doom, during his years in practice prognoses, treatments and options have all improved. Impressive gains have been made even in the last five years, much less over decades, in treating breast cancer, for example.
But the emotional impact on a patient who hears "you have cancer" has not always kept up with the medical breakthroughs.
"When people hear the word cancer, it's like the end of the world," he noted. "But these people here are a testament to what the health care system can do."