A local cancer survivor and former healthcare worker is giving back to the community this January by organizing a charity event. Mackenzie Martin reports.
Debbie Rohowetz and the Minocqua Forest Riders are organizing the first annual “Northwoods Cruise for Cancer” snowmobile ride.
Rohowetz was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 when she was living in St. Louis and about to retire to the Northwoods. She was so impressed with the treatment she received at Marshfield Clinic Minocqua Center when she moved to Hazelhurst that she now wants to give back to her new community.
“I was very pleasantly surprised when I got there,” she says. “The important aspect that my husband and I wanted to bring forward with why we decided to give back was because of the compassion of the Northwoods, the community that you feel being part of the Northwoods, and that the care you need is actually in your backyard.”
Rohowetz has now been cancer free for over a year. Proceeds from the ride will go to the Marshfield Clinic Health System Foundation’s Northwoods Cancer Care fund, which provides financial, emotional, and educational support for cancer patients seen in the Northwoods.
“You get this nice big pink bag,” she says. “The items of personal use that people need post-surgery, those are things that are not just given to all patients at all centers at all places but at the Marshfield Clinic Center, that’s what they provide because of this fund.”
The snowmobile ride will take place Saturday, January 26th, 2019. Riders will leave at 10:00 a.m., starting on the ice in front of the Boathouse restaurant in Minocqua. You can register for the ride as a participant, sign up to become a sponsor, or learn more about the ride at the Minocqua Forest Riders website: https://minocquaforestriders.org/
You can also reach Debbie Rohowetz at darohowetz@att.net.
For more information about the Marshfield Clinic Health System Foundation's Northwoods Cancer Care fund, contact Rikki Starich at starich.rikki@marshfieldclinic.org
