Battle for Hope set for Saturday

— The Heather Ridley Fleeman Battle for Hope race and family fun walk will be held on Saturday at the Old Tiger Stadium in Bentonville.

The Battle for Hope will include a 10K race, a 5K race, a 1-mile family fun walk and a variety of races for children ages 12 and under. More than 300 racers and walkers and 70 volunteers participated in the event in 2009.

All proceeds from the Battle for Hope will benefit Hope Cancer Resources, a northwest Arkansas agency that provides cancer support and educational programs, according to Fleeman’s mother, Kris Addington of Decatur.

Fleeman died in 2004 after a long battle with colon cancer. At the young age of 26, she was diagnosed with stage-four colon cancer. Fleeman underwent an operation and two years of chemotherapy treatments. She died just a few months after her28th birthday. She left behind her parents, sister, husband Bart and many friends and family members.

In 2005, Fleeman’s family and friends partnered with Hope, Inc., to begin the Battle for Hope in her memory. In 2009 Hope, Inc., merged with NARTI to form Hope Cancer Resources.

The new agency employs a team of licensed oncology social workers, registered nurses, a Spanish interpreter, a certified health education specialist and a certified tumor registrar. The agency provides transportation for patients to and from doctor’s appointments and treatments, as well as financial assistance for prescription medication, nutritional supplements, gas cards and everyday living assistance.

Hope Cancer Resources impacts the community by providing free cancer screenings and cancer prevention education. It also maintains the NWA Cancer Registry, which is a database of the cancers diagnosed in the areaand is the largest regional cancer registry in the state of Arkansas

Hope Cancer Resources helps people with any type of cancer, and 100 percent of the money raised by the Battle for Hope will be used in northwest Arkansas, Addington said.

Addington said she began thinking about a fundraiser in Fleeman’s honor and was surprised to find Fleeman’s best friend had been thinking the same thing. When the two women presented the idea to the Hope, Inc., director, they found she had also been considering a fundraiser in Fleeman’s honor.

“That’s when I knew it was a God thing,” Addington said.

The Battle for Hope also honors Fleeman’s desire to see more clinical trials offered to patients in northwest Arkansas. Fleeman really felt for the other cancer patients she saw at her many appointments and wanted to help them, Addington said.

While some doctors told Fleeman her condition was hopeless, others rallied around her to create a treatment program. After much prayer and almost miraculous circumstances, Fleeman was accepted into a clinical trial offering her some hope.

Many times clinical trials offer a last hope for patients when doctors say there is nothing more that can be done for them, Addington said. New treatments could possibly extend the patient’s life and might even result in finding a cure.

Finding a clinical trial is not easy and fitting all the criteria for the selection process is even more difficult. Often times patients have to travel far from their homes for treatment once they are selected, Addington said.

One of the conditions Addington set for the Battle for Hope is that at least two clinical trials will be held in northwest Arkansas each year.

“Heather saw all thosepeople who won’t get a chance for research ... She just felt for a lot of those people,” Addington said.

Addington said she would never have made it through the ordeal without the support of her family and her church. The Decatur Assembly of God is a gold sponsor in the event this year, and will be sponsoring a team of 36 walkers and runners, she said.

Participants can register for the race online until midnight April 30. Registration will be held at the event from 6:30 a.m. until 7:45 a.m. The 10 K race and the 5 K run walk will begin at 8 a.m. The 1 mile family fun walk will begin at 8:10 a.m. Kids races will follow at 9 a.m.

To register online, learn more about the event, or read Fleeman’s story visitwww.heathersraceforhopecom. To learn more about Hope Cancer Resourcescall 479-361-5847 or visit www.hopecancerresources. org.

News, Pages 1 on 04/28/2010