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Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, walking with participants during the Be a Part of the Cure Walk on Saturday, May 1. Image by Evan Lewis

UAMS Celebrates Cancer Patients, Survivors at First-Ever Be a Part of the Cure Walk

May 6, 2021 | More than 500 walkers, both in-person and virtual, turned out May 1 for the Be a Part of the Cure Walk, the first-ever community walk honoring all Arkansas cancer patients and survivors.

Hosted by the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), the Saturday morning event began at 8 a.m. at War Memorial Stadium. In addition to the 5K wheelchair-accessible walk, shorter routes were available, with the courses decorated by art from local schools to join in the cause.

Leading sponsors were Hickingbotham Investments, Highlands Oncology and J. Thaddeus and Melanie Beck. The event raised about $140,000, which will be used to benefit cancer research at the Cancer Institute.

Kicking off the festivities, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr., UAMS Health CEO and UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, and Michael J. Birrer, M.D., Ph.D., vice chancellor and director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, all addressed the crowd.

“I knew Winthrop Paul Rockefeller. He was a friend, and cancer cut his life short,” said Hutchinson. “I’m delighted that his family said they were going to continue his fight against cancer, and we’re supporting that today.”

“Cancer touches each and every one of us whether it is ourselves, our family members, our friends, our neighbors or those we go to church with,” said Patterson. “Raising awareness of all of the many types of cancer we have in our communities and state is a big step toward prevention.”

“The money that we raise today will go to cancer research done here in the state of Arkansas, and research is the lynchpin in finding a way to relieve ourselves of the burden of cancer,” he added. “So the work that you do today and the money that you raise today will really make an important difference.”

Like other speakers, Scott took time to recognize survivors who participated in the walk.

“Survivors have been through so much — seen and unseen,” said Scott. “We are grateful for them, and we’re grateful for UAMS. The nurses and the doctors are doing all they can to focus on healing and recovery.”

Many people worked long hours to make the walk a reality, Birrer said.

“I heard about this walk every night at the dinner table in recent months,” he said, noting that his wife Elizabeth was chairman of the event. “I’d like to thank all the cancer patients and their families for coming out today and our UAMS employees for supporting this, too,” he said. “I’d also like to thank everyone on the committee who worked to make the event a reality.”

“It is so important that we celebrate and honor all Arkansas cancer patients and their families this way,” said Elizabeth Birrer. “Our goal was to raise awareness in the community about cancer and provide those participating with education on cancer prevention,” she said. “It was a beautiful day and a great way to come together as a community to raise cancer awareness and to walk as one for the common goal of finding a cure.”

A few minutes before the walk, Debbie Landry, 51, Holly Tomlinson, 36, and Heather Hill, 40, sat together in the stands. The three became friends when they worked together at USAble Life.

The trio have more than a career in common; cancer connects these women. Each of them faced and conquered a different type of the disease.

“I had cervical cancer, and they caught it early so the only treatment I needed was surgery,” said Landry of Jacksonville. “And I have been cancer-free ever since,” said the married mom of three grown daughters.

Tomlinson of Sheridan had a molar pregnancy, a rare complication of the abnormal growth of the cells that normally form the placenta. The condition can lead to gestational trophoblastic neoplasia, a rare form of cancer that develops during the early stages of pregnancy.

“There is only about a 1% chance of having a molar pregnancy and then a 5% chance that it will turn into cancer,” said Tomlinson, who had a two-inch tumor in her uterus. Laura B. Huffman, M.D., a gynecologic oncologist at the Cancer Institute, treated her.

Tomlinson’s sister, Hill, was having a hysterectomy when she received a diagnosis of uterine cancer.

“I have since been cleared of it and am in remission,” said the Mabelvale resident.

The trio have something else in common – a desire to raise awareness of the different types of cancers and advance toward a cure.

“This walk was important for me to be a part of because of the fear that hits you with a diagnosis of cancer,” said Landry.

Improving awareness was the reason Tomlinson wanted to take part in the walk.

“For me, it’s really about awareness because most people have never heard of the type of cancer I had,” she said.

Hill hopes that increased awareness will result in saving more lives.

“Having more early detection can lead to having more survivors,” she said.

American Idol contestant Nia Renee, Rodney Block & the Love Supreme, and the Little Rock Central High School’s music department and JROTCColor Guard performed at the walk, with the participants applauded by the Cheer City United Cheerleaders.

Before and after walking, participants visited the booths and tables of some of the walk’s sponsors, including health care companies and organizations, drug companies and local businesses, and took advantage of educational materials on display, toured the MammoVan and enjoyed food.

Janna Burkett, 50, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007 when she was 36.

“I was treated at UAMS and they saved my life,” said the 14-year survivor.

She traveled from her home in Traskwood, Arkansas, to Little Rock to walk with her husband Teddy and their 5-year-old grandson Sterling.

When asked why the walk was important to her, she became emotional, teared up and struggled to respond.

“I can’t even put it into words,” Burkett said.

She said she hopes the walk raises awareness, not just for ovarian cancer, but for all cancers.

“I just recently lost my father-in-law to esophageal cancer and it’s important to teach my grandson the importance of cancer prevention,” she said.

“I am just happy to be here and to be a survivor.”