Salem Advocate Hosts Grand Cancer Tribute, Calls for Continued Funding Toward Cancer Cures

Cancer has taken much from Kathy Ottele over the years including her father, mother, two sisters and several other friends and family members. It’s come for her as well, but she is proud to be a seven-time cancer survivor. She knows cancer’s cost and so has become a relentless advocate in the quest to end all cancer for everybody through her work with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

She is one of the nation’s great individual forces against cancer and invites her fellow Oregonians to join her in spectacular remembrance of those lost, honor those in the fight or who have survived the battle. Ottele is planning one of the nation’s largest hometown Lights of Hope displays, working with volunteers and business sponsors to illuminate 2,000 lights of tribute at Salem’s Riverfront City Park on Wednesday, August 27 at 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend and contribute to the display. It will be Ottele’s sixth display and her biggest yet.

It also comes as members of Congress debate the president’s budget proposal, which slashes funding for the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health, as well as their groundbreaking research initiatives. This would impact public health programs and essential support systems that have contributed to advancements in cancer prevention, early detection and more effective treatment options. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about ACS CAN's advocacy efforts against cuts to cancer research and how they can get involved.

“Every one of us has been touched by cancer,” Ottele said. “I hope this is a way that somebody can honor a survivor or somebody who has lost their life and that they feel like ‘this is my voice and it is truly being heard’ and that every official is listening and they know that our mission is to end cancer as we know it for everyone.”

The event is part of ACS CAN’s annual Lights of Hope event, a powerful tribute to honor and remember loved ones impacted by cancer. This year, the organization celebrates its 15th anniversary of the event in the form of 10,000 lit bags displayed in Washington, DC, and neighborhoods throughout the country throughout the season. Ottele is one of the top individual fundraisers in America, raising more than $25,000 with the help of local businesses like Oregon Oncology Specialists, Ritter’s Housemade Foods, Valley Credit Union, Mitch Ratzlaff State Farm, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management, Salem-Keizer McDonald’s, WVP Health Authority, Margaret Giruc, DDS and Atrio Health Plans, Dallwig Brothers and Salem Clinic.

Her display will be grand, but her message is simple: “Get screened. Cancer does not wait and neither should you!”

When: Wednesday, August 27 at 7 p.m.

Where: Salem’s Riverfront City Park, Gerry Frank Amphitheater (200 Water St NE)

Admission: Free and open to the public