ProHealth Care names 2024 Walks for Cancer ambassadors
The ProHealth Care Foundation has named Kari Davison of Hartland, Kathleen Nonnamaker of Pewaukee, and Steve Nowak of Mukwonago the 2024 ProHealth Care Walks for Cancer ambassadors.
The walks are scheduled for 10 a.m. on May 4 at Fowler Park in Oconomowoc, Field Park in Mukwonago and Frame Park in Waukesha. The ambassadors are inspiring others to walk and raise funds to help support cancer research, cancer center technology, and patient education and support services at ProHealth Care’s three cancer centers.
Kathleen Nonnamaker of Pewaukee, Steve Nowak of Mukwonago, and Kari Davison of Hartland, are the 2024 ProHealth Care Walks for Cancer ambassadors.
Each ambassador received personalized care from a multidisciplinary ProHealth team including oncologists, surgeons, radiologists, nurses, nutritionists and a specially trained oncology nurse navigator.
Davison, 43, was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma in February 2021. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy followed in quick succession.
“The cancer diagnosis changed my life and my family's life,” she said.
An avid tulip gardener, kayaker and parent of four who home schools three children, Davison credits her husband, family and care team with getting her back to doing the things she loves.
“My ProHealth oncology team has been amazing,” she said. “I was met with kindness at every blood draw, comfort and privacy during infusions, and support at every appointment. They respected the suffering I was enduring, helped remedy it and helped me find a way to live well through all of this.”
Davison said she was honored to be chosen as the ambassador for LakeWalk in Oconomowoc. She offers a message of hope amid the struggle.
“I have learned to let things go and focus on what is good and lovely,” she said.
Severe back pain led Nonnamaker, 64, to seek care in late 2020. Imaging revealed lesions on her spine, ribs and sternum.
“The words metastatic and cancer were the furthest from my mind,” said Nonnamaker, who is an athlete. “I just couldn’t wrap my head around the diagnosis of multiple myeloma, a type of cancer that attacks the plasma cells.”
She has received a stem cell transplant and is taking part in a clinical trial that includes oral medication and a monthly injection.
“I felt like a celebrity at the UW Health Cancer Center at ProHealth Care,” Nonnamaker said. “The entire team became like family.”
The Pewaukee cancer center is close to her home, making care highly accessible. The treatments have allowed her to resume daily life much as before.
“Once a month I am monitored by lab work and get to visit with my providers,” she said. “My care team is amazing. The nurses in the infusion area are like friends to me.”
Nonnamaker asks others to join her as she walks in the RiverWalk in Waukesha to help support locally based cancer services.
Nowak, 58, sought care in June 2023 for a lump in his neck and was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma at the base of his tongue.
“I had a nagging sense that something was not right,” he said. “I’m glad I followed my intuition.”
While the diagnosis came as a surprise, Nowak learned the disease had been discovered at an early stage and was treatable.
He received chemotherapy and radiation therapy at the UW Health Cancer Center at ProHealth Care locations in Mukwonago and Pewaukee. He made a point of following every instruction his care team provided.
The compassionate care he received made things more tolerable.
“In addition to medical intervention, the team offered humor, a listening ear and endless encouragement – all of which led me to a positive outcome,” Nowak said.
As the ambassador for ParkWalk in Mukwonago, he encourages others to support the Walks for Cancer.
“The dollars raised at this event each year allow the cancer care team to perform miracles both large and small,” he said. “I am living proof.”
Anyone can register for the two-mile walks as an individual or as part of a team. All registered participants will receive a commemorative shirt. Details and registration are available at ProHealthCare.org/WalksforCancer.
The cost to participate is $30 online, or $35 by mail through April 30. In-person registration is available for $40 at the events.
If you have questions, email them to WalksforCancer@phci.org or call 262-928-9255.
