Relay for Life keeps family strong, involved

CEDAR RAPIDS - Marty and Jen Hoeger found a way for their entire family to get behind their son Jack's battle with cancer.

The Cedar Rapids family has been involved with Relay for Life of Linn County since 2006, the year after Jack, now 11, was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer.

“We fell in love with the idea of doing something positive,” Jen Hoeger, 38, says.

The Hoegers formed team JACKSTRONG to participate in the relay and this year, Jack's parents were chosen as honorary chairs for the event, along with breast cancer survivor, Rebecca Jacobs.

Jacobs, a three-year survivor, was chosen to represent all cancer survivors, while the Hoegers represent cancer caregivers.

Relay for Life of Linn County is scheduled for Friday through Saturday at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids.

Participants run or walk on a track during the event, the signature fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. In the 21 years the event has been held in Linn County, more than $3.3 million has been donated to support cancer survivors.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad watches as Physicians' Clinic of Iowa Patients Jack Hoeger, 11, and Deloris Wasson, participate in the groundbreaking ceremony for the new PCI medical pavilion Thursday, May 19, 2011 in Cedar Rapids. (Becky Malewitz/SourceMedia Group News)

Similar events are scheduled throughout Iowa and the rest of the United States.

Music, games and other activities are also a part of the relay.

Luminaria displayed around the track offer an opportunity to remember a loved one who has been lost to cancer or to honor a cancer survivor still receiving treatment.

Jack Hoeger has been in remission since 2006, says his mother, a speech therapist at Virginia Gay Hospital in Vinton.

His dad, Marty Hoeger, 38, heads the non-profit Neighborhood Development Corp.

While Jack says he enjoys running the track and likes the candles at the event, his siblings, Ben, 9, and Ella, 7, also have a chance to participate.

“I'm gonna walk all night,” says Ella, who says she also likes the rub-on tattoos given to children at past relays.

Many other family members and friends join in to participate, Jen Hoeger says.

“It's nice because it's family-oriented,” she says. “For Ben and Ella, this is their way of being a part of everything.”

Comments: (319) 398-8428; cindy.hadish@sourcemedia.net

What: American Cancer Society 2011 Relay For Life of Linn County

When: 7 p.m. Friday, June 3 to 9 a.m. Saturday, June 4

Where: Walking trail around the soccer fields and baseball diamond at Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids

Other: To participate, call the Linn County American Cancer Society at 319-866-7102.

For other Relay for Life events see: www.relayforlife.org or call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345.

In the 21 years the event has been held in Linn County, more than $3.3 million has been donated to support cancer survivors.