SATURDAY June 1st
Central Park Pavilion, Schenectady
Race Start Time: 10:00 AM
Registration: 9:00 AM
3.1 miles - 1 Mile Fun Walk - Fun Run for Kids after the race
Will benefit the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund
REGISTRATION FORM BELOW
$25 Advance Registration Fee • $30 Day of Race Registration Fee
Our goal for the JoAnn and Nancy 5k is to honor these women by helping to raise money and awareness for Ovarian Cancer. We have chosen the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF) as the beneficiary of our efforts. Whether you plan to attend the race in person or would like to sign up as a virtual runner, we have added some great incentives to motivate your pledge and fundraising efforts!! Prizes include: Mad Jack T-shirts, gift certificates, and much more! To see a complete list of incentives download our electronic brochure. Then, go to: www.ocrf.kintera.org/teamhope to create a personal fundraising page that you can email your friends, families, co-workers and neighbors asking for their donations. Cash and check collections will also be accepted on race day.
Nancy (McDonald) Nappi, beloved wife of Fran and mother of Bridget and Kevin, was active in Niskayuna school and sports organizations while her two children were growing up. At the time she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in November 2003, she was an executive assistant at Schenectady International.
A month after Nancy’s ovarian cancer was discovered, her sister in- law, JoAnn McDonald, received the same diagnosis. JoAnn, mother of Joe and Jeff, was active in school organizations and historic preservation. In 2003, she and her husband, Jack, purchased the historic Mohawk Club building in downtown Schenectady, and after JoAnn’s restoration and redecoration were completed, it reopened in September of that year as The Stockade Inn.
Both JoAnn and Nancy vowed to continue living their lives as they battled ovarian cancer together. And they did so — both continued to work, organized family activities and carried on in every way with dignity, grace and courage. The race, organized by the Pinhead Susan’s family, is in its sixth year. The first two years, it honored JoAnn, who died in January 2005 after a two-year battle with ovarian cancer. Starting in 2007, the race took on added significance after Nancy died of the same disease in November 2006. Both lifelong Schenectady residents were 54 years old at the time of their deaths.
In establishing the JoAnn-Nancy 5K race in their names, their family seeks to raise money to promote early detection of the disease, to support ovarian cancer research in an effort to save lives and to give women everywhere hope that this insidious killer can be stopped.
Ovarian cancer has been characterized as the “silent killer” by some medical experts because of its insidious nature. The symptoms of ovarian cancer can be vague, making the disease difficult to diagnose. In many cases, by the time symptoms become apparent, the cancer already has become advanced. Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States, and is the fifth-leading cause of death among U.S. women.
According to the American Cancer Society, more than 22,430 women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007, and about 15,280 died from it.
Currently, there is no effective means of early detection for the disease. As a result, ovarian cancer is usually diagnosed in advanced stages, and only 50 percent of women survive longer than five years.
Today, only 25 percent of cases are diagnosed before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary. However, if ovarian cancer is detected and treated early, the five-year survival rate is greater than 90 percent.
Sources: American Cancer Society; Ovarian Cancer Research Fund