CHASEBURG, Wis. – Linda Degarmo of Chaseburg has been organizing events to raise money to fight cancer for 34 years, but she has been “ticked” at cancer for over 50 years.
“Cancer took my daughter away 46 years ago this November,” said DeGarmo. “It will be 46 years that she died.”
But DeGarmo also lost her mother to cancer five years before she lost her daughter.
“We lost our 52-year-old mom five years prior to that,” said DeGarmo. “And she left behind a 9-year-old, a 12-year-old, 14-year-old, and a 17-year-old, and then us three older girls were married. And then five short years later Tammy got sick. Then we lost her so, I have been ticked at cancer and if I could swear, I would swear, but I’ve been ticked at cancer for a long time, over 50 years.”
DeGarmo said those experiences are what makes her keep doing what she does, including organizing the Chaseburg Sole Burner event that has already brought in over $120,000 before today’s event to remember loved ones lost to cancer. Over the last 19 years they have raised over $2,000,000.
“So, I do this every year, mostly to kick cancer in the butt,” said DeGarmo. “And to help other families not have go through what my family had to go through before my daughter got cancer. I’ve seen what it has taken from our family. I’ve seen what it has taken from other families.”
But DeGarmo was also optimistic. She is involved with the “Cancer Action Network” that lobbies legislators to help in the fight to find cures to cancer and provide more funding for research. DeGarmo just came back from Washington D.C. and there are some positive developments like new testing procedures to help catch cancer early.
“There is a simple blood test out there,” said DeGarmo. “We’re hoping that it’s going to be approved by the FDA by 2028. That’s a simple blood test that will detect 50 different kinds of cancer.”
But DeGarmo said the other reason she keeps working so hard on the events to fundraising is because the people involved have become her family.
“I do what I do because I love people,” said DeGarmo. “And I love my family. And I love …this is my family, I mean, they are unbelievable.”
DeGarmo did tell the crowd at the event that this would be her last year as co-chair of the event, but she vowed to “still be around” to help the next generation carry on what she started.
“I’m not going anywhere,” said DeGarmo.
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