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March 26, 2008
Danielle Gillespie , Staff Writer
After losing both of her parents to cancer, Pacific Palisades resident Amy Madnick made it her personal mission to support cancer patients and their families.
'Sickness happens to more than just the body; it affects people spiritually and emotionally,' the 49-year-old said this week.
In 2004, Madnick organized the Palisades Relay for Life, a nationwide fundraiser benefiting the American Cancer Society, where groups of people walk or run for 24 hours to raise money for cancer research and programs. The fourth annual Relay event here will begin on Saturday, April 5 at 9 a.m. with an opening ceremony at Paul Revere Middle School.
In recognition of her work, the Pacific Palisades Community Council will present Madnick with a 2008 Golden Sparkplug Award at the Citizen of the Year dinner on April 24 at the American Legion Hall. The annual award honors citizens for projects they help launch that benefit the Palisades community.
'Without Amy, this year's big event would never have happened,' wrote Community Council member Susan Nash when she recommended Madnick for the award. 'Having this event on a regular basis has significantly and permanently made a difference in the quality of life we all enjoy in this community.'
Madnick, who graduated from Palisades High School in 1976, first heard about Relay for Life from her husband's cousin. She spoke with women in the community and organized a volunteer group that included Sandi Merwitzer, Carolyn Haselkorn, Rita Singer, Bernadette Romano, Judee Colton, Lainie Sugarman, Courtney Zinszer, Dana Fein and Mary Jane Leonetti. Madnick's two teenage children, David and Becca, and husband, Leo, also volunteered.
'I don't feel like it was me,' Madnick said. 'I feel like it was this great group of people.'
That first year, hundreds of people participated in the relay at Marquez Elementary School, and they raised $66,000. 'It was amazing the outpouring of generosity,' Madnick said. 'A good portion of us stayed up all night' It was the best thing I ever did.'
Madnick, a social worker at Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, coordinated the event again the next two years, but she was too busy with work to arrange one in 2007. Kit Festa and Joy Festa Schroeder have now taken over the leadership role. Madnick is glad the relay will continue because it's a great opportunity for people to bond.
Her mother, Barbara Lewis, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease in 1964. She survived that cancer, but in 1984, she died of melanoma, more than likely caused by the radiation treatments she received for Hodgkin's. Madnick's father, Leonard, an oncologist in Santa Monica, died of a brain tumor in 1976.
In addition to Relay for Life, Madnick helps Spanish-speaking breast-cancer patients at the White Memorial Hospital in East Los Angeles, as part of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Since starting the relay, 15 of Madnick's friends and family members have been diagnosed with cancer.
'I just want [my grandchildren] to grow up in a world where this illness doesn't exist,' she said.
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