Walters will have 'special' relay

Jennifer Walters will be celebrating an anniversary during the 2012 Johnson County Relay for Life.

When the clock strikes midnight on June 16-five hours into Relay-it will mark one year since this 30-year-old was diagnosed with lymphoma.

After being told she was at low risk of getting cancer, this new mother of a 10-month-old daughter, Nora, had an unexpected fight on her hands. Fortunately, she didn't have to fight this battle alone.

“I am so blessed, because we have so much family in the area,” said Walters, who works in information technology services at ACT. “I had so much support from everyone. To me, that means the most.”

Walters will join other survivors in taking the Survivor's Lap at 7 p.m., June 15 at the University of Iowa's Cretzmeyer Track in Coralville. Walters will walk this opening lap knowing her doctor gave her a clean bill of health seven months earlier.

“(The survivor lap) will be difficult in a way, but it's a big moment,” Walter said. “It's a huge thing to realize that I survived. Thinking about that, it gets to you.”

Immediately following the Survivors Lap, a special lap will be held to recognize and thank all caregivers of cancer patients and survivors. Walters will take that lap with her husband, Fred.

“It will be special in a way. It's a way to honor and remember everything we've been through,” Walters said.

While on vacation last spring, Jennifer felt a bump on her collarbone. Later, she noticed a bump under her arm. She has a family history of lymphoma. Her grandmother acquired lymphoma in her late 60s, so that prompted Jennifer to visit the doctor.

Upon learning she had cancer she immediately focused on beating it.

“I was in control. I could fight it,” Walters said. “I could take care of myself. In a way, it's kind of empowering. I was going to beat this. I never saw any other option. I get that from my mother. She's very optimistic.

“People get bogged down in what-ifs. Having a little baby, what other option did I have?”

Walters's advice to people living with cancer: You can beat it. You can win.

And you don't have to fight alone.

Walters's Relay team is called No One Fights Alone.

“My sister found a support bracelet online with that phrase, and I love it,” Walters said. “I wear it every day”

For more information, visit http://www.relayforlife.org/johnsoncountyia,e-mail johnsoncountyrfl@gmail.com, or call 319-471-5076. For more information on cancer resources, visit your American Cancer Society: www.cancer.org or call 800.227.2345.