By Joel Magalnick, JTNews Correspondent
Marsha Rivkin died from ovarian cancer in 1993. Marsha’s family — husband Saul Rivkin and her five daughters — who wanted to commemorate her as well as raise awareness and money for ovarian cancer treatment and prevention, founded the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research a year later.
The Rivkins are longtime member of Herzl-Ner Tamid Congregation on Mercer Island. As a result, the research center’s top fundraiser, the Swedish SummeRun, has a group of runners and walkers — Team HNT — that holds a special place in the family’s heart. “They’re very happy and very pleased that Herzl has a great team each year,” says Melissa Rivkin, one of Marsha’s daughters.
“And not just the team,” she adds. “There are a lot of Herzl volunteers that have been there…getting to the race at like 5:30 in the morning.”
Team HNT, which has participated nearly every year since the SummeRun began, is once again — after a year’s hiatus — being captained by Jana Mochkatel.
“I think it’s a good team to support, supporting Marsha Rivkin and her family,” Mochkatel says.
“When I tell my friends about it,” she adds, she is “proud to be on the Herzl team. And I don’t even go to Herzl!”
She has recruited some of the team membership from Bet Alef Meditational Synagogue as well as her softball team.
Because of an injury earlier this year, Mochkatel was unable to put all of her energy into fielding a large team, but she does have around 20 walkers or runners for this year’s SummeRun.
“I’d like to see it even bigger, like 50 people!” Mochkatel says, but she also doesn’t mistake quantity for quality.
“What was kind of neat is it costs $25 to walk or run,” she says. “I noticed a lot of people adding more money…over and above the $25.”
While her death just before her 50th birthday was a tragedy, Marsha’s husband Saul, an oncologist, had the knowledge and resources to do something about protecting others from the disease.
“After my mom died,” says Melissa, “my dad started focusing on setting up an ovarian cancer research center, because he felt it was an area that wasn’t getting a lot of attention compared to some others.”
Melissa’s sister Heidi came up with the idea for SummeRun as the center’s main fundraiser. Heidi and sister Rebecca usually run the 10K race. “They’re both big-time runners,” Melissa says.
Everybody in the Rivkin family is involved with the race to some degree, even though not all of them still live in town.
The center, located in First Hill, had its groundwork laid in 1994. It has since become a respected institution that works to fund pilot studies and hold symposia to help cure the disease. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and Swedish Hospital, in a joint program with the Marsha Rivkin center, screens people for ovarian cancer as well. These collaborations, according to the center, allow the research to take place without many of the limitations of larger institutions.
If caught in the early stages, ovarian cancer can be easily curable. The center — and the SummeRun — are great ways to help both women and men understand the cancer, Melissa Rivkin says.
Sponsorships cover the cost of administration and t-shirts for the SummeRun, which is an aspect of the run that keeps Mochkatel coming back.
“All of the money — 100 percent of the money — goes to the center,” she says. “That’s amazing! That’s something I was impressed with.”
Yet Mochkatel notes that the run itself isn’t the true reason she’s there.
“The point isn’t the actual exertion of energy,” she says. “It’s really just supporting a good cause. And it’s just fun. You don’t have to work out, it’s a pretty flat walk, they give you a bottle along the way.”
While the deadline to join Team HNT has passed, it’s not too late to sign up for the SummeRun itself. Mochkatel encourages people to come out, no matter who they run or walk with.
Melissa Rivkin, who has a different perspective on the whole day, is still happy with the level of support from Team HNT and Herzl-Ner Tamid Congregation at large.
“It’s grown a lot, but we are still so happy that our family and friends are still involved and need to be involved in so many ways.”
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