5K fundraiser set for Oct. 5

Published 12:00 am Sunday, September 21, 2014

All her 3-year-old son, Miles, knows is that mommy has a boo-boo in her belly.

“He’ll bring me Band-Aids for my belly,” Tina Webb said. “He makes me laugh on days I don’t feel like laughing.”

Webb, 30, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on July 2.

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“I had been hurting since October (2013) but I just figured it was stress and blew it off,” she said. “Then the Wednesday before the Fourth of July I woke up in pain that was worse than labor.”

Emergency room tests revealed a 6.3 centimeter mass on Webb’s pancreas. She was on her way to The Ohio State University Medical Center 90 minutes after the diagnosis.

She has taken the pill form of chemotherapy for the past two months. Doctors told her recently her body was not responding to the medication.

“I have two big tests coming up this week,” she said. “Right now there is no treatment plan in place. The pills were just a trial and surgery is not an option. Doctors want to look and see if the cancer has spread to my bones.”

Webb’s friends, dubbed “Team Tina,” have organized a fundraiser to help her pay for transport, treatment and surgical costs. The Run For Tina 5K Run/Walk is 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5, at Liebert’s on South Ninth Street in Ironton.

“My friends have really taken the lead on this,” she said. “I really wouldn’t expect it. The outpouring of support from my friends, family and the community has been amazing. They even passed out flyers and registration forms during halftime of the Ironton and Ashland football game.”

On-site registration is 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 5. Cost to race is $15 if registered before Oct. 4 and $20 the day of the race. Groups of more than eight registered before Oct. 4 will be charged $12 per person. Race shirts are guaranteed to the first 150 people who register. Door prizes, refreshments and goodie bags will be provided and participants are urged to wear purple.

To register, contact race director Alan Osuch at osuchraceplanner@aol.com or call 606-369-4403. More information and registration forms are also available on The Tribune’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/irontontribune.