Amanda Rosso of West Amwell still is recovering from a double-cord transplant, which uses umbilical cord blood, in her fight against leukemia.
By: Linda Seida
WEST AMWELL When the American Cancer Society hosts a free dinner next week for volunteers interested in its annual fundraiser, the Relay for Life of South County, a former volunteer will be absent because of her own fight with cancer.
Amanda Rosso, 29, will remain at home in West Amwell while she regains her strength 16 months after undergoing a double-cord transplant, which uses umbilical cord blood. A bone marrow donor could not be found after she was diagnosed with leukemia in June 2005.
She remains leukemia-free.
"I have 100 percent donor blood in my body," Ms. Rosso said. "Nothing of my own."
It wasn’t the first time she had to fight for her life. Ms. Rosso, the wife of Hopewell Township Police Officer James Rosso, already had waged and won a battle against osteosarcoma, a bone cancer common in children and young adults, in 2004.
There are precautions she must follow as she recovers from the transplant. Avoiding crowds is at the very top of the list.
Ms. Rosso said in an e-mail interview, "I still need all of my immunizations, and I cannot get them until certain medications are stopped, and my immune system is not up to par. So I have to be really careful in crowds, and I definitely cannot be around anyone who is sick, not even a cold. It would turn into pneumonia for me and a lengthy hospital stay. Staying healthy is the key!"
She first went to the Relay as a cancer patient in 2004. At the time, she was recuperating from surgery and chemotherapy to vanquish the bone cancer, and she had to attend in a wheelchair.
In the spring of 2005, after she had grown stronger and left the wheelchair behind, she led her own team of about 30 walkers to raise funds for cancer education and research so others could benefit.
Ms. Rosso knows as well as anyone the obstacles patients face on the tough road to recovery. And the joys of home and family are more precious than ever.
"It has been a rough year since the transplant," she said. "I am actually starting to feel like myself again. I still have to go to New York on a weekly basis for blood work and certain IV antibiotics. Now I am having kidney problems, my kidneys are damaged from the full-body radiation and the antibiotics I received while spending seven months in the hospital after my transplant. Down the road, I will need to have dialysis and a kidney transplant.
"I still look to the brighter side of my health. It felt good to be home this year for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, especially to see my daughter’s reactions to the holidays. It is really what the holidays are all about: spending time with the ones you love most, your family."
Four-year-old daughter Brielle visited her mom via Web cam while Ms. Rosso was a patient at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
This year’s Relay will take place June 1 and 2 at the Hunterdon County 4-H Agricultural Fairgrounds in Ringoes.
It is an overnight event where individuals and teams take part in a variety of events, including camping out, listening to bands and walking a track relay style to raise funds for education and research.
When dusk falls, volunteers light hundreds of luminarias in a ceremony to celebrate survivors and remember those lost to cancer.
The Relay for Life will take place in 4,500 communities this year, but it began in 1985 with just one person who wanted to make a difference.
The American Cancer Society tells the story of a colorectal surgeon in Tacoma named Gordy Klatt who liked to run marathons. He decided to put his ability to use to raising funds for the American Cancer Society. He spent 24 hours more than 83 miles circling a track at the University of Puget Sound. His friends paid $25 to walk for 30 minutes with him.
That first year, Dr. Klatt raised $27,000. This year, the event is expected to raise more than $300 million, according to the society.
Volunteers, teens as well as adults, who are interested in learning more about the Relay for Life of South County are invited to attend a complimentary dinner at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, at the Amwell Valley firehouse at 22 John Ringo Road in Ringoes. RSVP by calling (800) ACS-2345.
The dinner will include subs plus desserts donated by local Girl Scouts. Information will be presented on how to join or start a team. Packages of information will be available to take home. Volunteers also will see a video of past Relay events, including the luminaria ceremony.
In case of inclement weather, call the 800 number for the snow date and location.