Fighting back by raising funds

When Marlborough resident Dottie Manning looks out at the 8,500 people expected at today's Walk To Cure Cancer in Worcester, perhaps she'll be able to make some sense of losing her son and husband to the disease.

Daniel Manning Jr. died weeks before his 21st birthday from pneumonia after battling leukemia. Two years later, in 1997, Daniel Manning Sr. died of esophageal cancer at the age of 47.

With longtime family friend Bob Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, Manning created the 5-mile walk.

"Having lost a son and a husband, I know what people are going through when they hear the word cancer," Manning said.

When a relative, friend, or colleague is diagnosed with illness, the gut response is, "What can I do?" As a way of healing grief or of simply fighting back, many have launched funds to battle disease in the memory of loved ones and in thanks of those who survived.

Foundation work ''offers a way of connecting -- through one's own illness or that of a loved one -- to a larger community of sufferers and survivors, which can be both inspiring and sustaining," said Stefan Krug, the associate dean of the Simmons College of Social Work and a Newton resident. "A large part of coming to grips with illness and loss is the need to find some way to make meaning out of suffering."

Julie McAvinn of Wellesley learned she had ovarian cancer in November 2003. During the first harrowing week after the diagnosis, she and her husband, Peter, decided that once she recovered, they would do something to help others suffering from the disease.

Julie died three months later, at age 40, leaving three children under the age of 10. The Julie Fund was created this year in her memory. The inaugural gala is planned for Oct. 8 at the Copley Marriott Boston. It will include dinner, dancing, and a live auction. Peter and Julie McAvinn both grew up in the western suburbs. Many in their extended family and friends are expected, and the public is invited as well.

Peter McAvinn, a managing partner at New York Life, is working on a video for the Julie Fund gala. ''I'm looking through old footage and pictures," he said. ''In some ways that increases the grief, and in other ways it's cathartic when I go through the exercise."

McAvinn said the family was overwhelmed by the support they received while his wife was in the hospital.

"We have hundreds of friends who have helped us out," he said. "Dinner three times a week for a year, neighbors taking my kids shopping . . . all kinds of things that have allowed us to continue to live the life that we had."

The Julie Fund will help families that don't have such a vast support structure, providing money for day care, transportation, and temporary housing. The fund will also go to cancer research and to raise awareness of symptoms and treatments.

''My kids and I talk every day about The Julie Fund," said McAvinn. "It's a good way for the kids to connect with their mother without having to introduce the subject of 'Mommy's gone.' It's not why we started the fund, but it's certainly turned out to be a great benefit."

Dr. Alan Michelson, a pediatric hematologist who lives in Sudbury, is among the researchers benefiting from family fund drives.

"When a patient has an uncommon disease, families often rightly feel that there isn't much research spending on it," said Michelson.

His specialty is of particular interest to the family of 5-year-old Toby Olsson of Franklin. At age 2, Toby slipped into a coma for four days and was diagnosed with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, a rare platelet disease. Grateful for their son's recovery, Mary and Kai Olsson organized Harmony From the Heart, a concert now in its second year. Kai, a folk musician, brought in fellow performers, and the concert drew nearly 100 supporters to the Knights of Columbus hall in Franklin this month. Donations are still coming in for this year's event; last year's raised $15,000.

The money was given to the Center for Platelet Function Studies at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, where Michelson is investigating new treatments.

Like the Olssons, Nanette and Mike Duquette of Shrewsbury established a fund as a way of saying thanks for the recovery of their child. In August 2001, the couple and their four children had their van all packed for a vacation, when they had one errand to run: a quick stop at the pediatrician's office to check out some minor concerns they had about 9-month-old Bobby. They were shocked to discover that the toddler had hepatoblastoma, a cancerous tumor that originates in the liver. Surgery and chemotherapy proved successful, and Bobby will be 5 next month.

The Duquettes established Bobby's Bullpen to raise money for children undergoing cancer treatment at UMass Memorial Medical Center. For example, the fund has paid for an entertainment center for the room where children must sit for hours while undergoing chemotherapy and for glider rockers for the pediatric department. Among their fund-raising efforts have been a carnival at Hebert's Candy Mansion in Shrewsbury and a raffle at Pure Hockey in Marlborough.

Judy Kaufman of Newton has been able to personally show her gratitude for those who saved her life. After watching her mother survive breast cancer for more than 15 years, Kaufman at 37 found herself fighting ovarian cancer. A year later, she is back on her feet and ready to do battle on a broader front. She has launched Judy's Hope, which is holding a live and silent auction Thursday at the Conference Center at Harvard Medical School to benefit the oncology unit at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Kaufman's three daughters are also involved with cancer causes; this month, they donated hair to Locks of Love, which makes wigs for chemotherapy patients.

The family-founded funds can have staying power, as Jeff and Eliot Popkin of Newton have shown. In memory of their mother, Eleanor, who died of breast cancer in 1987, they launched the Ellie Fund in 1994.

"The first year, we had a wine tasting event at Veronique [in Brookline] that raised $2,000," said Jeff Popkin, who was 17 when his mother died. "This past August, we held a golf tournament at Shaker Hills Country Club in Harvard that brought in nearly $10,000."

The Ellie Fund, which supports breast cancer research and the families of patients, is best known for hosting Oscar Night America the past eight years. "It's the only 'sanctioned' Oscar event in Massachusetts," said Popkin. "We receive official program books and [paraphernalia] from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and simulate being there."

This year's party, held at Saint in Boston, raised $20,000, he said.

Upcoming is a collaborative with the Boston Ballet at the Boston Harbor Hotel on Oct. 3 and a Halloween bash at The Big Easy on Oct. 20.

Back in Worcester, Dottie Manning is hoping today's Walk To Cure Cancer raises $850,000. Last year's event raised more than $700,000.

A longtime guidance counselor at Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School, Manning also oversees Our Danny Cancer Fund, which she founded with her late husband. Both the Danny fund and the walk support cancer research at the UMass Memorial Medical Center.

"We have a hill that's halfway through the 5-mile walk," Manning said. ''At the top of the hill, I always stop and look at the sea of people coming up the hill on one side and going down the hill on the other and I think, 'Oh, my God, where would we be without cancer research.' "

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