Cancer

The Soroptomist gals sure know how to fill a bra ? with baubles, bangles and beads, that is. ?Bras for a Cause Salutes Television? was the provocative title of the Soroptimist International of Glendale?s seventh annual fundraiser Saturday at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Glendale. The bra-studded evening included a reception, viewing of the decorated bras, silent and live auctions and dinner. Spot-on Lucille Ball impressionist Suzanne LaRusch provided entertainment and hostess duties.

Given her family history, Marla Zack was well aware of the plights of cancer. As she aged, the Burbank resident received a regular mammogram, ultrasound and MRI, wary that the disease would strike. “Still, it’s devastating when you get that news, especially when you think you’ve dodged that bullet because you’ve been so proactive,” said Zack, a breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed in March 2008. “It just shows you that there’s no rhyme or reason to this disease.

Roy Edward Disney, who despite toiling for decades in the shadow of his famous uncle put his stamp on the Walt Disney Co. through the revival of its renowned animation unit and charitable contributions, lost his battle with cancer Wednesday. He was 79. Remembered as a shy man who favored cardigan sweaters over a power suit, Roy Disney’s presence across the region grew with time, along with his public persona, observers said. The Roy and Patricia Disney Family Cancer Center, slated to open on the Burbank Providence St. Joseph Medical Center campus in February, received a major shot in the arm when he and ex-wife, Patty, provided a $10-million endowment to fund its construction.

GLENDALE — After surviving chemotherapy, several surgeries and a double mastectomy, the battle against breast cancer isn’t over for Glendale resident Myli Vanegas. After a yearlong battle with the disease, the 45-year-old must now be more vigilant than ever with constant doctor visits and tests. She started getting mammograms at 39 after discovering lumps on her breasts during a self exam. But getting mammograms hasn’t always been an easy process. “You have to demand because they don’t listen, like they don’t care,” she said.

The 2010 Tournament of Roses Royal Court paid one of its first ambassadorial visits Tuesday to cancer patients at Glendale Adventist Medical Center. Flanked by their queen, Natalie Innocenzi, a student at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy in La Cañada Flintridge, the court made its rounds at the hospital, injecting a sense of glitz and glamour to the sterile hallways in the weeks leading up to the Rose Parade in Pasadena on Jan. 1. The court had lunch with cancer survivors, toured rooms and told patients “they’d be waving to them” on the Rose Parade route, said Alicia Gonzalez, a hospital spokeswoman.

A few months back, the Desi Geestman Foundation supported a Burbank family by providing a $200 grocery card. Around the same time, another $200 was given to a San Gabriel family to assist in covering funeral expenses after the father was laid off. An additional $500 went toward a rent payment for a family whose son was a patient at the City of Hope for a bone-marrow transplant. There are more examples of how families in the area and around Southern California are struggling to pay for medication, grocery bills or housing while coping with children who have cancer.

GLENDALE — Tom Fry, a longtime staple in the Flintridge Prep community as a coach and teacher, who was revered by colleagues and his family, lost a seven-month battle with a malignant brain tumor Wednesday night. He was 52. Fry, a 1975 Crescenta Valley High and 1979 Occidental College graduate, died at his brother’s home in La Cañada Flintridge. He had taught history and served as an assistant football coach after joining Flintridge Prep in 1990. Fry, who was active in numerous sporting and academic events at Flintridge Prep, was diagnosed with a tumor in late March before undergoing surgery in early April at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, Rick Fry, one of Tom’s two older brothers, said.

LA CRESCENTA — Kills, aces and assists played their normal prominent role in deciding the Pacific League girls’ volleyball match between host Crescenta Valley High and Burbank on Thursday afternoon. But by far the most important statistics in the Bulldogs’ 26-24, 25-15, 25-23 win were digs. As part of The Falcons’ Dig Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Rally in conjunction with the Sideout Foundation, money was raised for breast cancer research with each ball dug by both teams.