Luminaries set out in honor or memory of those who have been afflicted with cancer line the Student Activities Building at Allen Community College Saturday as part of the annual Relay For Life.
KELLY SIGG remembers breaking down after her final chemotherapy treatment. She sat in her favorite blue chair, the one that had molded itself to her body because she sat in it every day for months during her battle with stomach cancer.
She said she ?bawled like a baby,? but not with tears of sadness.
?You did this,? she told herself.
It?s been 20 years since Sigg found out she had cancer. She celebrated the milestone with friends and family at the Allen County Relay for Life event Saturday, helping lead the survivor lap along with Lori Fink from Grand Junction, Colo., the sister of organizer Denise Smith.
In a fitting coincidence, a group of about 20 family and friends surprised Sigg by attending the event with her. Her husband, Steve, and at least two of her four children usually attend the Relay with her every year, but this year the group included all of her children and their spouses and their children, too.
?It was a total surprise,? she said.
Iolan Kelly Sigg, in purple, is surrounded by friends and family to mark 20 years of being cancer-free at Saturday?s Allen County Relay For Life.
TWENTY years ago, Sigg knew something was wrong with her body. She felt nauseated all the time and couldn?t make it through a day without a nap, something that was quite unusual for the busy mother of four.
With her daughter about to graduate from high school, Sigg chalked it up to stress. If she still felt sick after she made it past prom and graduation, she told herself, she?d go see a doctor.
The physician assistant who saw her insisted on a scope and biopsy, but the test came back benign. The surgeon, however, refused to believe the results and insisted on a second test.
That was on a Monday.
On Wednesday afternoon, Sigg?s family physician called and asked if someone was home with her. She was alone, which was unusual. Her doctor told her to sit down as he told her the news.
