Young Cancer Survivor to Lead Local Relay for Life Team

Palm Harbor native and cancer survivor Ashley Rutenberg is fighting back against the disease that almost took her own life as a child.  Stricken with cancer at 15-months-old and surviving two subsequent relapses, Rutenberg now looks at her journey through cancer with new eyes and a desire to help others.  

Rutenberg will lead her first team at the Relay For Life of Palm Harbor event on April 12-13, 2013, at the Palm Harbor University High School track.  Now 26-years-old and cancer-free, Rutenberg has formed team “Ashload of Hope” and has made it her mission to lend support to young cancer patients who remind her of herself.

Rutenberg isn’t alone in her struggles and triumphs with cancer.  More than one million people are diagnosed with the life-threatening disease each year. Relay For Life was created by the American Cancer Society to raise awareness and funds for research to save lives from the disease.  Team “Ashload of Hope” has already almost reached its goal of $2,500.

To help raise money, Rutenberg organized and hosted a fundraiser which consisted of dinner and a comedy show at Palm Harbor’s Temple Ahavat Shalom Reform.  The event earned $2,000, some of which went to help children in the Tampa Bay community who are battling cancer.  A portion of those proceeds also went to CureSearch, a program which helps fund cancer research at hospitals, including All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, FL, where Rutenberg was treated as a child.

“[I want to let] people—especially children—who are in the midst of their struggle with cancer know that there are survivors out there,” says Rutenberg.  “The Relay For Life event allows us to support each other and fight together to overcome this unwanted obstacle in our lives.”

Relay For Life of Palm Harbor currently has 17 teams and 104 participants, and is expected to grow even more in the upcoming weeks.

Learn more about the Ashload of Hope Relay For Life Team Find out more about Relay For Life of Palm Harbor. 

Related-

• Young Cancer Survivor Hosts Benefit to Help Kids Fighting Cancer
• Local Hero: Young Cancer Survivor Raises Thousands for Charity

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