American Cancer Society

City officials and American Cancer Society representatives want cancer survivors and the friends and family of victims to lend a hand, so to speak, in raising money to combat the deadly disease. People touched by the deadly disease are invited today at noon to put their hand print and their names on a wall display that will be shown at the Glendale Central Library, at 222 E. Harvard St. The honorary chair, Mayor Bob Yousefian, will attend. The event is a prelude to the Glendale Relay For Life fundraiser for the American Cancer Society in October.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE ? Officially, spring is still a day away, but inside Glendale Adventist Medical Center, the season of awakening and renewal is off to a head-start. Hospital staff members and volunteers from the American Cancer Society trimmed hundreds of bundles of daffodils ? the delicate yellow flowers are often the first spring buds to bloom ? and delivered them to cancer patients on Tuesday. The gesture is an annual tradition at Glendale Adventist, where cancer services staff members at the hospital partner with the American Cancer Society to provide and deliver the flowers to usher in the spring season.

It had been a while since retired police Officer Jon Harrison was able to stretch out his legs in a lap around Scholl Canyon ball fields, and with dozens cheering him on, he wasn’t about to disappoint. “All that spiritual and mental support, the camaraderie, it means a lot,” said Harrison, whose 11-month battle with gastric cancer sparked the campaign “Hope for Harrison.” A hymnal from the movie “Rocky” blasted through the speakers as Anita Theis rushed to join fellow survivors.

GETTING INVOLVED runs periodically in the Daily Pilot on a rotating basis. For information about adding your organization to this list, call (714) 966-4600. ACADEMIC YEAR IN AMERICA Costa Mesa families can host a German student and earn up to $1,000 toward a number of travel-abroad programs. Information: Danielle Carpino, (800) 322-HOST. ALS ASSN., ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Assn., which helps people who have the disorder that is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, needs volunteers.

Karen S. Kim DOWNTOWN -- Jamba Juice in downtown Glendale will host a Free Smoothie Celebration on Friday, giving away free 24 ounce smoothies. Glendale's giveaway is part of a Southern California Jamba Juice promotion going on all week. Sixty-five of the company's stores are handing out free smoothies this week. The promotion gives customers a chance to donate money to charity rather than to their drinks. Volunteers from local American Cancer Society chapters will be on hand at Jamba Juice locations during the giveaway to accept donations.

Janine Marnien LA CRESCENTA -- Foothill Relay for Life is trying to raise an additional $4,000 for a research grant to fight cancer. More than $21,000 was raised at the Relay for Life held at Crescenta Valley High School the last weekend in April. Event organizers will accept donations toward the $4,000 goal until Saturday. Donations can be sent directly to the American Cancer Society at 4940 Van Nuys Blvd., Suite 301, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403. Checks should be made out to the American Cancer Society, with a notation that the donation is being made on behalf of Foothill Relay for Life.

Team raising cash for Relay for Life A fundraiser for Relay for Life and the American Cancer society will be from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Sunday at Far Niente, 204 1/2 N. Brand Blvd. Through silent auctions and opportunity drawings the event will raise money for the American Cancer Society and Hope Rises II, a team in Relay for Life, coming on Oct. 7 and 8 at the Glendale Sport Complex. Relay for Life is an event that celebrates cancer survivors and raises money for the American Cancer Society.

Glendale Adventist Medical Center's cancer patients were not without hope Tuesday. Hospital officials distributed 100 bouquets of daffodils to 100 of the hospital's cancer patients Tuesday as part of the American Cancer Society's Daffodil Days fundraiser. Hospital employees, volunteers and community members bought the bouquets ? 10 yellow daffodils in a blue vase ? as part of the fundraiser, hospital spokeswoman Alicia Gonzalez said. The flowers were then given to the patients anonymously.

  H. Marie Krempin went to be with her Lord on June 21, 2011.  She was 87 years old and lived in Glendale for over 50 years.  She was born in Mossomin, Saskatchewan on November 23, 1923.  She was a Registered Nurse who dedicated her career to cancer research at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles and California Institute of Technology.  She was preceded in death by her husband, William, and son, David. She is survived by her son John and his wife Drew Ann. daughter Willow and her husband John and daughter in law, Laurie.  She also leaves 6 grandchildren and 1 great granddaughter.  A memorial service will be held at First Lutheran Church in Glendale on Saturday, June 25 th at 1pm.  In lieu of flowers the family request donations be made to the American Cancer Society in honor of Marie.

"When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better." — Maya Angelou According to the American Cancer Society, almost 1 in 8 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime Rose Marie Hunt had beaten breast cancer once. But when it came back, and metastasized to other parts of her body, Jessica Cribbs knew her mother's prognosis wasn't good.

When doctors 10 years ago diagnosed Mary Strauss with breast cancer, the retired bookkeeper was forced to confront a condition that for much of her life went unnamed. “Growing up, we never talked about cancer,” said Strauss, 76, of La Cañada. “It was the big C. You didn’t tell people you had the big C, this dreadful, terrible disease. Who tells people about a looming death sentence?” This weekend she joined more than 1,000 survivors, their supporters and people who lost loved ones to cancer at American Cancer Society Relay for Life events in La Crescenta and Burbank.

It had been a while since retired police Officer Jon Harrison was able to stretch out his legs in a lap around Scholl Canyon ball fields, and with dozens cheering him on, he wasn’t about to disappoint. “All that spiritual and mental support, the camaraderie, it means a lot,” said Harrison, whose 11-month battle with gastric cancer sparked the campaign “Hope for Harrison.” A hymnal from the movie “Rocky” blasted through the speakers as Anita Theis rushed to join fellow survivors.

GLENDALE — Kathy Duarte will walk the track at the Scholl Canyon ball fields on Saturday to honor and remember the family members she has lost to cancer — and to celebrate those who are survivors. Duarte, a city planner, is one of more than 800 people expected to take part in the city’s sixth annual American Cancer Society Relay for Life, a 24-hour event starting at 10 a.m. Saturday at Scholl Canyon. The event is organized by city officials and community members, with Glendale Adventist Medical Center as this year’s presenting sponsor.

GLENDALE — Residents at this year’s Relay for Life can sign up for a landmark cancer prevention research study, organizers said. The American Cancer Society is seeking 500,000 volunteers nationwide for the Cancer Prevention Study-3, a long-term research study that will examine the connections between lifestyle and environmental factors and cancer. So far, 70,216 have enrolled, according to the organization. The city’s Oct. 17 Relay for Life event at Scholl Canyon has been chosen as one of the enrollment sites for the study.

Marianna Clarizio is following in her grandmother?s footsteps by giving back to her community. She volunteers with numerous organizations, including Mark Keppel Elementary School, the American Cancer Society and Incarnation Church. Her grandmother, who emigrated from Italy, was able to dedicate her time to volunteer activities while raising a family on her own, Clarizio said. ?Even though she was alone with three children in a country she was new in, she had time [to dedicate to others]

One of the area’s most meaningful events of the year will occur at 9 p.m. Saturday night at the Clark Magnet High School track. That’s when hundreds of candles in decorated bags — or luminaries — will be lit and names read in honor of those who have survived or lost their battle with cancer. Cancer is the leading cause of death in America for people under the age of 85, touching most families in some way. That’s why so many local residents and businesses plan to take part in this year’s Foothills Relay for Life, of which the Luminaria Ceremony is a small, but meaningful, way to remember, reflect and respond.

Letters to the Editor Join them for the Relay for Life event “Your child has cancer.” Those are four words no parent need ever hear. After the initial shock has worn off, you as a parent turn on the auto pilot and move on. That’s where our journey began. In December of 2002 our son CJ, whose passion was running long distance, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in his left heel. His doctors told us the course of action would be chemotherapy and a below the knee amputation, followed by more chemo.

Youths whizzed by on their skateboards or took a swing at a baseball as parents and other kids sat on the sidelines munching hot dogs or hamburgers as Billy’s Board Shop’s Boarding — and Batting — for a Cure took over the South Pasadena Skate Park last Saturday. The event raised money for the American Cancer Society and also raised awareness among of the disease. “This was a benchmark to provide awareness for younger kids, and also a springboard to bring awareness and promote Relay for Life, which is coming up in May,” said Tim Shepard, Billy’s Board Shop owner.