By Antoinette Colon
Donna Muthersbaugh made her sisters promise to always help in the fight against cancer. However, Muthersbaugh had no way of knowing that her sisters would some day participate in the first Boyertown Relay for Life.
Donna lost her battle with lymphoma after two years from her diagnosis, leaving behind three children and eight siblings.
From chemotherapy -- some experimental -- to surgeries, Muthersbaugh fought hard with the love and support of her entire family.
As a single mother, the support from her family had to also come in the form of dollars and cents. Despite having insurance, Muthersbaugh's medical costs were hefty, pushing her family to begin fundraising for her care.
These successful fundraising efforts led to the family starting For the Love of Donna Foundation, which raises money for cancer patients. One hundred percent of the proceeds go towards a family battling cancer. To date the foundation has raised approximately $18,000.
"We didn't want her to worry about her mortgage, her hospital bills and everything else," explained sister Joan Spence. "We wanted her to worry about getting better. Our job was to help her financially so she could mentally and physically take care of herself."
When Spence joined the Good Shepherd United Church of Christ Relay Team, Muthersbaugh attended her first relay and was very moved by the experience. She vowed to walk in the survivor walk but never made it.
"She loved the idea of us doing the Relay for Life, but she said don't forget about the little people," added Spence. "So, till this day we still fund raise for people in great need when names come to us."
The dynamic sisters decided they wanted their own Relay for Life team in Muthersbaugh's honor called "For the Love of Donna."
With two outstanding years at the Pottstown's Relay, which ranks second in the state, the team was ecstatic to find out about the inaugural relay in Boyertown.
Raising $20,000 for the relay in Pottstown, the team knew they could make a great impact at Boyertown's first relay.
Without hesitation, the sisters joined the Boyertown relay to help mentor and guide other new teams. From blood drives to adult dances, For the Love of Donna is paving the way to a successful fundraising year for Boyertown.
"Her biggest struggle was her platelets and her white blood cells. Her only hope as a lymphoma patient was a bone marrow transplant," said Mona Gincley. "We were all tested and our oldest brother Keith [Blankenbiller] was a perfect match. All they had to do was get her into remission but she didn't make it."
Due to the overwhelming amount of blood transfusions she received, one of the fundraisers is a blood drive.
Although there is no money raised, the sisters agree the gift of life is priceless.
Joining them in their fight against cancer are family members like Muthersbaugh's oldest son, Jason, and his wife, Pam, along with family friends. The growing team has now reached 27 people, allowing for them to set a goal of $10,000.
Gincley added, "She always did smile, no matter how bad she felt. She was always thanking whoever was driving her down to University of Penn, and smiling while she was in the chemo chair. She was constantly keeping the conversation going because she always felt like she was inconveniencing everyone else, and that isn't how we felt, but she was always the one being the bravest."
There was no family history of cancer but Muthersbaugh's sister, Mary Hadley, said, "When a family member finds out they have cancer, the whole family has cancer. Every single person knows at least one person affected by cancer."
"That's why we do relay," added Spence so the next time it hits someone closely, we will have a survivor story."