The road to a cure

College years are hard enough with a full load of classes and part-time job. For many students who have a parent diagnosed with cancer, school suddenly becomes a secondary priority. Their mother or father is sick, and their parent's wellness is the biggest miracle they can hope for, yet it is out of their hands. All they can do is wait.\nBut sophomore Jenevra Fryer is not satisfied with waiting. She is determined to do the biggest thing she knows she can. From June 15 to 17, she will walk 60 miles from Kenosha, Wisc., to Chicago, Ill. \nAs part of the Avon 3-Day Walk, Fryer will raise $1,900 and walk with 3,000 other women, supporters and survivors of breast cancer. The purpose of the event is to raise money for the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which provides money for medical research, financial assistance to breast cancer patients, support services for patients and families, advocacy training and community education and early detection programs.\nFryer has four aunts who were diagnosed with breast cancer, one of whom died. Right now, her mother, Victoria Fryer, stands at a high risk for breast cancer after a close call with cervical cancer three years ago. Doctors believed she had beaten the cancer through surgery, but last summer, pre-cancerous cells reappeared in the areas where they were before. This January, her stepfather was diagnosed with cancer in his shoulder and esophagus.\nJenie Farinas, a junior and a close friend of Fryer, is walking with Fryer and said she admires her very much. She recognizes Fryer has had a hard life yet said Fryer deals with her problems positively, never letting anything bring her down and always has time to help others.\n"She is amazing," Farinas said.\nFryer maintains her confidence because she said things happen for a reason. Although she does not always understand what is going on and why things happen, she said her faith remains strong.\n"My grandma told me earlier on that if you tithe and do your best, that God will never leave you out there," she said, "Even when you think it's not going to work out, it all seems to work out for me."\nDoctors at the IU Cancer Center in Indianapolis keep a close watch on the potentially cancerous cells in Victoria Fryer's body. The medical treatment costs have been a large burden on the family since Victoria's first bout with cancer. Because of the surgery, she had to quit her job and therefore lost her insurance policy.\n"I help her out whenever I have extra money," Fryer said. "When I was little, my mom did everything for me, so it doesn't bother me to help her out in any way I can."\nVictoria Fryer said it is wonderful her daughter wanted to do the walk. She said she knows Fryer is very aware of cancer because she has had so many family members with it.\n"She's very committed to helping out however she can," Victoria Fryer said.\nShe said raising the money for the walk has not been easy. She estimates she has spent more than 40 hours on the phone and on e-mail trying to contact campus organizations. She's received $1,100 so far. \nThrough the residence halls' miss-a-meal program, Fryer was able to raise $900. Students had the option of donating $7.50 of their meal points when they ate at a certain food court on a particular evening Fryer arranged.\nTo get into the nursing program at IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis next fall, Fryer is working hard for a high GPA this semester. She said she has been given a lesson in time management between school, raising money, training for the walk and working 15-20 hours a week. \nBeing away from her mother is sometimes hard on Fryer as well. She said in the past years she has gotten to know Victoria Fryer more as a person and not just her mother. \nWith Victoria Fryer's sickness, she misses her even more. \nVictoria Fryer said she loves to spend time with her daughter. She then made reference to the bathroom they are currently working on in their house. The plumbing needs redone, so Fryer and her mother are teaching themselves to be plumbers.\n"I miss her at anytime of the day," Victoria said. "She's always very helpful and does whatever I need done."\nSometimes Fryer said she cannot help but be overwhelmed by everything, but she thinks about her mom and pushes on.\n"It doesn't matter what circumstances my mom faces, she is strong," Fryer said. "She doesn't worry and always says, 'You can't help what happens to you, you can only help the way you face it.'"\nFryer said she chose to face the cancer in her family with a commitment to walk 60-miles and raise 1,900 for breast cancer research, a cure she is confident she will see in her lifetime.\n"This is my little thing that I can do for my mom and women in general," she said.\nIf you would like to make a donation, please contact jfryer@indiana.edu.