On the day Melissa Ruh found out her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, she was sitting in Starbucks with a group of friends and saw an advertisement for A Run for Their Life.

“It was like I was meant to find it,” said Ruh, a sophomore political science major.

The Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund’s third annual A Run for Their Life will raise money and awareness for cancer, with all funds going directly to SUNY Upstate Medical University. The event on Sunday offers a 15K run through Thornden Park, along the Connective Corridor to Armory Square and back to Manley Field House, as well as a 5K run or walk through Thornden Park. Student registration costs $15, and will be available from 7 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. on the day of the event at the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center.

Ruh said she thinks the run is a good way to raise cancer awareness locally. She said despite the high statistics for cases of breast cancer, many people still don’t know how to check themselves, or even that they should do so.

Two of Ruh’s grandparents died of cancer, so raising awareness by participating in events like Relay for Life has been important in her family even before her mother’s diagnosis.

Although Ruh’s mother underwent surgery and her latest tests have come back negative, Ruh thought the worst when she heard the news last month. Being away from her home in Massachusetts only made the situation harder; on top of worrying about her mom’s health, she was also concerned about going through everything alone. From doctor visits to surgery, Ruh was only able to support her mother from afar.

She got through the last month in large part because of the support of her close friends.

“If she would get down or start crying or anything, we always had chocolate on hand,” said Courtney Inbody, sophomore public relations major and Ruh’s roommate.

Ruh said having people close to her was important, especially since she was so far away from her mom.

“When I find out good news or bad news, whatever it is, they’re always there,” Ruh said.

Inbody said she met Ruh in the dorms last year and they instantly connected. So when summer came and Inbody went back to California and Ruh went back to Massachusetts, the two talked on FaceTime almost every day. Ruh told Inbody before the fall semester started that there was a possibility her mom could be diagnosed with cancer. When the cancer was confirmed, Inbody, who has also dealt with family members with cancer, stepped up in every way she could, including signing up for A Run for Their Life.

Another member of Ruh’s team for the event is Sydnee Corriders, senior psychology and child and family studies major and fellow member of Main Squeeze, an all-female a cappella group on campus. Corriders, who joined Main Squeeze toward the end of her freshman year, met Ruh last year in First Year Players, a student-run musical theater group that gives non-musical theater majors the opportunity to perform in an annual spring production. Corriders is one of the people Ruh confided in when she found out her mom had cancer.

“I was really surprised, but more impressed with her as a human being,” Corriders said. “She was so strong, and she maintained such a positive attitude. I of course told her that I had her back.”

Corriders has also had multiple deaths in her family due to cancer. Because the disease touches so many people, she decided to organize an event on campus to raise money and awareness.

The event, called Pink is the New Orange: A Breast Cancer Awareness Revue, will feature performances from Main Squeeze and The Mandarins, the two all-female a cappella groups on campus. It will take place at 6 p.m. on Oct. 19 in Hendricks Chapel. Tickets are $3 for students and $5 for the general public. Doors open at 5:45 p.m.

Corriders said she got the idea because breast cancer is a disease that has such a huge effect on women, so bringing all-female a cappella groups together seemed like a poignant yet entertaining way to attract an audience and bring attention to the issue.

Said Corriders: “It clearly touches so many people. Not just at Syracuse University, but also in our group.”

Published on October 9, 2013 at 11:26 pm

Contact Jessica: jmcabe@syr.edu | @Jessica_Cabe