Amy Sawaya knows the pain involved in losing a loved one to cancer. But, she said she also knows the joy of serving others who have been diagnosed with the disease.

Sawaya, a 19-year-old student majoring in corporate finance, said she joined BYU’s Cancer Awareness Group as a way to serve others — the way others served her own mother when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

“I have very strong feelings for all the people who worked with her in the hospital to help her,” Sawaya said. “The doctors told us she only had a year to live, but they were able to extend it to three. I want to do anything I can to help prolong or save the lives of thousands of people like my mom.”

The Cancer Awareness Group is a group of BYU students that work to educate the community about early cancer detection and raise money for cancer research.

In October, which is also known as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the group plans to hold different activities to promote early detection.

In addition, the group raises most of the money during the annual Rex Lee Run. Jennifer Biornestad, secretary for the Cancer Awareness Group, said about 1,600 people from campus and the community represent cancer survivors in the race each year.

The group donates all the money it raises to the BYU Cancer Research Center.

Daniel Shipp, a senior from McCammon, Idaho, said the most rewarding part of his experiences in the group is the sense of accomplishment.

“The largest satisfaction is the knowledge that I am contributing to a cause that is so much larger than I am that has the potential to transform and bless lives,” Shipp said. “In such an undertaking, it’s hard not to be passionate.”

The Cancer Awareness Group will have its opening social tonight at 5:30 p.m. in the SWKT Quad. Students can also visit the group’s Web site at cancerresearch.byu.edu/cag.



Copyright Brigham Young University 29 Sep 2005