Read Time: 3 minutes
Author: Steve Ostler
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Steve Ostler shares how Huntsman SportsFest has brought friends and family together to raise money for cancer research in honor of his late wife, Ann Lee Taylor Ostler.
Ann was diagnosed with brain cancer (anaplastic astrocytoma) in 2012. She received treatment at Huntsman Cancer Institute during that time. She was a very informed patient and found and his staff to be incredible resources to help her understand everything that was happening to her.
She responded well to her first tumor, which was too deep for surgery. Radiation and chemotherapy shrunk the tumor to the point where it was not visible on an MRI. She regained complete function and health, which allowed our family to make many memories together while her health was so good. The 18 months were a gift to us and wouldn’t have been possible without the excellent treatments she received.
In January 2014, another tumor was discovered, again too deep for surgery, but she received radiation and chemotherapy. This time, however, she didn’t respond well and passed away on March 24, 2014.
Everyone who Ann associated with at Huntsman Cancer Institute was amazing. She made friends with many of the staff, and they, in turn, cared deeply for her. Our experience, while so difficult in so many ways, was made so much better because of everyone at Huntsman Cancer Institute. We felt that everyone genuinely cared about Ann and tried to make her cancer journey as pleasant as possible.
Because of how strongly our family has all felt about the care we received, we wanted to give back and help others who also experience cancer. We started participating in in 2017. We missed the COVID-19 year and also had a wedding one year, but otherwise, we have so enjoyed being part of the event. We have had bikers, runners, and walkers, and our team has grown each year. Ann loved to bike and run. She inspired many of us to do the same. Now we get to honor her by doing activities that she loved. As we participate together, we feel close to her knowing we are doing something together as a family that she would love that we are doing.
Last year marked 10 years since Ann’s passing so we decided to go big and make a greater effort to generate more donations and recruit a larger team. We were excited that so many family and friends wanted to be part of Team ALTO (Ann Lee Taylor Ostler) and to generously contribute to Huntsman Cancer Foundation. I guess we were the top fundraising team this year.
The event falls close to Ann’s birthday (June 17). Our family has decided that this is the way in which we want to celebrate and remember Ann each year. Our family has grown since she died. Only one of my seven children was married at the time of her passing, and we had one grandchild. We are now expecting our sixteenth grandchild, and all of my seven children are married. As new people join our family, they are able to learn about Ann and be part of remembering her remarkable life. SportsFest is now a big part of our family culture and something we plan to continue to do as our family grows.
We are passionate about the mission of Huntsman Cancer Institute. We know so many experience cancer. We are incredibly lucky to have a world-class institution so close. Huntsman Cancer Institute helps people fight and overcome cancer in the most compassionate way possible. It also helps those who lose their lives to cancer by supporting in remarkable ways all of those who are so deeply affected. We are grateful to continue to to Huntsman Cancer Institute. While our donations aren’t huge, we know that every dollar helps and provides care and research to ensure Huntsman Cancer Institute is at the cutting edge of fighting these diseases.