Breaking News
Local News

A journey of hope

Survivors share stories, hope at Relay for Life

By Deb Gau 3 min read

MARSHALL -- One way to visualize Brenda Verschelde's journey with cancer is with a string of beads.

At the Lyon County Relay for Life on Thursday evening, Verschelde held up a keychain with multicolored beads, each one representing different steps in her diagnosis and treatment.

"I started with an empty keychain like this. And the idea, the Prairie Cancer Center said, was to fill it one bead at a time, for each successful treatment or event. So the first bead is a pink one, and it represents my diagnosis," said Verschelde, this year's honorary chair for Lyon County Relay for Life.

Other beads in Verschelde's keychain represented surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and even events like getting fitted for a wig.

"I did withstand the ups and downs, and now I'm feeling stronger and more grateful with each waking day," she said.

Sharing stories like Verschelde's was one part of the annual Relay for Life event, which was held Thursday in Marshall. Community members gathered to raise funds for the American Cancer Society, light luminaries and remember those who have been affected by cancer in their lives.

"Look around at our survivors. This is what hope looks like," said Alyssa Jeppesen, a member of the Lyon County Relay for Life leadership team.

Verschelde said her journey as a cancer survivor began with her annual mammogram in 2025. After the mammogram report came back "noting something suspicious," Verschelde said she went through more tests and was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma.

"That sounded like a lot," she said. "And then my surgeons added that, had I come in six years prior, they would have sent me home because there were no treatments available. So now, that kind of shook me up."

However, Verschelde said her care team said that with new research and developments, successful treatment was now possible.

"I became determined to go on. I prayed that it be God's will for me to survive," she said. Verschelde went through lumpectomy surgery, and weeks of both chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

"And here I am, one year later," she said. When Verschelde rang the bell for her last treatment at the cancer center, she said, she felt "elation beyond words." Verschelde said she wanted to thank her family, friends and community, as well as the medical team that helped her.

"You all enabled me to overcome this cancer," she said.

Organizers and speakers at Thursday's event said the funds raised for the ACS help benefit cancer patients in Lyon County. Jess Moriarty, a nurse practitioner at the Avera Cancer Institute Marshall, said funds stay local as much as possible.

"We are blessed to be able to receive grants for transportation and lodging. So our patients who need to travel to Sioux Falls frequently, or need to stay overnight because of some of their treatments, can be assisted financially," Moriarty said.

She said the ACS also supports research for new cancer treatments.

"This year, we've had some great strides in what we can do here in town, and so now we are able to offer research (program participation) right here in Marshall," Moriarty said.

Verschelde emphasized the importance of cancer screening and treatment.

"Cancer does not discriminate. So if you feel or see something different with your body, do something," she said. "See your doctor, and get those annual checkups and mammograms. It saved my life."

Starting at /week.