Local New Bedford Woman at D.C. Cancer Rally, Honors Mom and Others
By Joe Crea
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2002–Wearing purple clothing and earrings, Lorraine Desrosiers Sylvia entered the Massachusetts tent, at the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life “Celebration on the Hill.” The space was bustling with activity and joyous laughter. She immediately smiled and it seemed as if her radiance broke through the day’s overcast weather.
Today, she and thousands of other dedicated individuals attended the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life “Celebration on the Hill” event on the National Mall that advocates cancer awareness, celebrates the lives of cancer survivors and honors the memory of those who have passed. Sylvia, a lifelong New Bedford resident, has volunteered for the American Cancer Society for the past nine years.
The event in front of the U.S. Capitol was crammed with a concert stage and 50 tents that housed volunteers from all 50 states who were planning, sharing, laughing and crying.
“We really are here today to make an impact and let everyone know we care about cancer and that we vote,” said Sylvia.
Joining Sylvia on this pilgrimage were her husband, Richard Sylvia, and all 15 members of her American Cancer Society support group. Her friends in the group were not shy when offering their opinions about the 58-year-old New Bedford resident.
“She’s the kind of person who will say, ‘Gee, Laura, can you help me out? And the next thing you know you are a committee chairperson,” said Laura Hergenhan, 53, of New Bedford.
Sylvia’s image as a Town Crier prompted another friend, Dale Correia, 53, of New Bedford, to say that “she’s one of those people that carries around an imaginary soap box.”
Her friends all agree. Sylvia is one of the most caring individuals they know.
For Sylvia, who lost her mother and three cousins to cancer, there was plenty to remember and honor in Washington today.
“I miss her just as much today,” said Sylvia, speaking about her mother, Loretta Lariviere, who died 30 years ago. “She was awesome.”
Lariviere had lymph node cancer and Hodgkin’s disease, and according to her daughter, always participated in experimental drug trials with the hope of saving other people’s lives.
“What’s so wonderful about it is that people don’t die of that type of cancer anymore,” said Sylvia. “Maybe her research helped save lives. So she’s my hero.”
But the day also was an opportunity for Sylvia to celebrate, as she knows many who have survived cancer, like her aunt, Beatrice Johnson, 69, of Fairhaven, who was in attendance.
And Sylvia had her own brush with cancer some years ago when doctors removed a tumor that turned out to be non-malignant. As a result, she ignores the latest controversy surrounding the validity of mammograms.
“The trauma that I went through waiting to find out was horrible,” said Sylvia. “And the tumor was found with a mammogram so I think they are very important.”
Sylvia became involved in the American Cancer Society after her close friend, JoAnn Richard, asked if she would volunteer with her after Richard’s father died of cancer.
“I want to do this for my dad,” Sylvia’s friend told her. “Will you help me,” asked Richard.
After that, Sylvia became a team captain for the Relay For Life of Greater New Bedford-an overnight event that celebrates survivorship and raises money for research and awareness programs for local American Cancer Society chapters–for nine years. In Washington, she served as an ambassador for the national event.
New Bedford’s Relay for Life, held every year in June, has been ranked in the top ten relays throughout the nation for the past four years. This year, the event took in $538,000, celebrated the lives of 1,170 survivors and sold 14,000 Luminarias-candle lanterns lit in a ceremony after dark in honor or memory of a loved one touched by cancer.
“I sold 302 Luminarias for this relay,” said Sylvia, mentioning the local Democratic congressman. “Congressman Barney Frank bought ten from me.”
The Massachusetts delegation has supported the Relay for Life cause, she said, adding that Frank and Democratic Sens. Ted Kennedy and John Kerry all have been advocates of campaign programs to eradicate cancer and fund research. And to show their support, they even took their message to President Bush, said Sylvia.
Sylvia said she has received letters from members of the Massachusetts delegation to Congress informing her, “They recently met with him (Bush) and he said that it’s (cancer) an important issue to him and we need to fund the cancer programs. So that was good news.”
In the meantime, Sylvia continues to focus on her volunteering efforts and still attempt to honor the memory of her mother. “I think my mother was always proud of her children,” she said. “She would be equally as proud of us today.”
In a heart-warming moment, Sylvia noted that her mother’s last name was Lariviere, which in French means, “the river” and her last name, Desrosiers, means “of the roses” in French.
“Together, they say, ‘The River of Roses.’ I’ve always liked the way that sounds.”
Published in The New Bedford Standard Times, in Massachusetts.
