This coming Saturday, the Sleepy Cat Urban Winery in Allentown will host the American Cancer Society (ACS), broadcasting live interviews by Mike Kelly of top 40 radio station B104 as part of the 47th annual telethon taking place at Penn’s Peak in the Poconos. The telethon airs on Service Electric Cable in the Lehigh Valley, channels 913 and 914.

Receiving the ACS Courage Award at this year’s local event is cancer survivor Bari Pollock, who manages social media for multiple ACS Relay for Life chapters. Pollock works with teams in the Lehigh Valley; Warren County, N.J.; and Rahway, N.J. Relay for Life began in 1985 when Dr. Gordon Klatt did a 24-hour combination walk-run in Tacoma, Wash., to raise money for the ACS and awareness of cancer nationwide.

Pollock was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer at the age of 28 and quickly learned the value of a strong support network.

“I ended up at the most amazing oncology office with the most amazing oncologist I could ask for,” she says. “She made the treatment options understandable, and she has the best bedside manner possible.”

Family also helped Pollock prepare for the ups and downs of treatment. Her boyfriend’s relatives, who have supported family members on their own cancer journeys, stepped up to help the newly diagnosed Pollock.

“It’s better to go into a doctor’s office with more information and more questions,” Pollock says. “You have to be in charge of your own journey. It doesn’t mean that I don’t trust [an oncology nurse] if I ask them to wait while we double-check [on a treatment protocol.”

Pollock grew up in Matawan, N.J., and now lives in Emmaus. One of the adjustments she has made, due to her ongoing cancer treatments, is leaving her teaching career for work in the bakery of a grocery store. Her attitude in this situation is typical of Pollock’s generous spirit.

“I have wonderful managers who are very kind, who understand my situation and what I’m going through,” she explains. “Every job is important. The cookies I’m making, someone could be gifting them to someone who just got a promotion. It can make a difference in someone’s life, even for a moment.”

Relay for Life is a key component of Pollock’s support network. Involved in Relay as a high school student and with Colleges Against Cancer later, she became a volunteer when she received her cancer diagnosis and started with the Rahway chapter.

“I have such an amazing support network and Relay family there,” she says. She now contributes her time and talents to promote the Lehigh Valley, Rahway, and Warren County chapters on social media.

“I enjoy doing social media with them because people have become such great Relay family,” Pollock enthuses. One of her Relay family members is an oncology nurse who is not involved in Pollock’s treatment, but they text each other every morning. “Even with her very busy schedule,” Pollock notes, “she still takes time to remember me.”

At Relay events, teams man fundraising tables, do laps of the venue to the extent they are able, and honor survivors and remember those lost to cancer with luminaria. One Rahway event had a Zumba instructor; Warren County hosted a cakewalk; the Lehigh Valley chapter distributed cards as participants walked the track, with the cards redeemable for prizes.

But it’s not all fun and games, Pollock explains.

“Something that’s very touching are the luminarias. We do them in honor of someone who’s a survivor, or in memory of someone who passed away, and we decorate them based on the person’s likes and who they were.

“We put little tea light candles in the bag and put them around the track, and [walkers] do silent laps. There was one time I saw somebody kneel down and just cry sitting in front of them. Someone told me, ‘Treat these bags like they’re the real person.’ This is somebody’s family member that we’re honoring.”

Pollock opens her heart to fellow survivors.

“You’re a survivor from the moment you hear the words, ‘You have cancer.’ It doesn’t start from the second you ring the bell, but from the second you are diagnosed and start fighting.”

In her own fight, she says, “Having that amazing support system makes the absolute world of a difference.”