Taylor named honorary Relay For Life chair
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Aaron Taylor of Bellefontaine, shown walking at the 2015 Logan County Relay For Life accompanied by his two children, Ashlyn and Aiden, is this year’s honorary Relay chair and also has volunteered as the co-chair organizer with Emily Shreve. (PHOTO | EXAMINER FILE) |
Bellefontaine area resident Aaron Taylor has strapped on his tennis shoes each summer for the past 18 years to walk many miles in support of the annual Logan County Relay For Life and the American Cancer Society.
He said the event is particularly meaningful to him because he enjoys meeting individuals who have personally been affected by cancer and hearing their stories, whether as a patient or as a caretaker for a loved one. These individuals are often his neighbors, former classmates or others he never would have guessed had encountered difficulties with the disease.
“We don’t walk around wearing a T-shirt proclaiming, ‘I’ve had cancer.’ I’m living proof of that,” he said. “For each of us who are at Relay, we all have a tie together and share a great camaraderie.”
The 44-year-old father of two, husband to Jayme and longtime Ashley Furniture employee has his own cancer story that some who know him today might not realize. About 21 years ago, he underwent treatment for thyroid cancer at age 23, and, still to this day, encounters some of the side effects from that time.
To share his story with other Relay attendees and to recognize his dedication to the annual event since its inception, he has been named the honorary chair for the 2016 festivities, which take place from 6 p.m. to midnight Friday at the Ohio Hi-Point Career Center.
Mr. Taylor also is pulling double duty this year, as he has volunteered to be a co-chair organizer of the event with fellow Bellefontaine area resident Emily Shreve, who is a breast cancer survivor.
While the honorary chair received his thyroid cancer diagnosis in 1995, he said for a few years before that, he had a sizable lump on his throat, which could be seen in his senior pictures at Bellefontaine High School. As an otherwise healthy young man, he said he had no pain with the lump and that it didn’t seem to cause any other problems.
However, in the fall of 1994, he had surgery to remove a hernia. Upon examining the growth on his throat, his doctor recommended that he see a specialist to have it checked out.
Following CAT scans, ultrasounds, and an open biopsy on the lump, he received the thyroid cancer news on Feb. 14, 1995. An 81⁄2-hour surgery to remove the 51⁄2 pound lump was then completed at Doctor’s West Hospital in Columbus, involving a team of seven doctors and 18 nurses, Mr. Taylor said.
His thyroid and parathyroids on the right side of his neck also were removed.
Read complete story in Thursday’s Examiner.
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