Ethan Vance | staff writer

When Dukes Against Cancer president Jameson Rusiewicz started the organization last spring, he said he never imagined what it could turn into.

When he looked into the crowd of people creating handmade items for cancer patients Wednesday, he couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Looking out and seeing 100-plus people working on making gifts was really special and meaningful,” Rusiewicz said. “We no longer had a lot of names signed up, but now we had an actual student body of 100-plus.”

Dukes Against Cancer hosted Petals For Patients in the Gormley Student Union Nitespot, which allowed students to participate in the making of cards, homemade flowers made with pipe cleaners and the designing of tote bags. Students also got to write positive messages on small pieces of paper to put into mason jars to give to patients.

“We liked this idea because it can provide a positive message to patients when having a depressing day,” Rusiewicz said.

When making the flowers, participants could choose between 15 different colors including pink, purple, blue and green. Each of these colors symbolize a type of cancer, with pink representing breast cancer, purple representing multiple like pancreatic cancer, blue representing prostate cancer and green representing kidney cancer.

Before Dukes Against Cancer, Rusiewicz said there wasn’t a club like it at Duquesne. When the club started, its main goal was to get students involved who shared a passion in helping those with cancer.

They also wanted to be active in fundraising and work with local cancer wards to provide help. Instead of working with a singular charity, the club has worked with many at the same time and even formed partnerships with some.

“We have worked to donate $1,000-plus to cancer research at UPMC’s Children’s Hospital in Lawrenceville,” Rusiewicz said. “We are also growing a connection with St. Jude’s.”

The club has represented Make-A-Wish at the Pittsburgh Citiparks Mascot Skate event and will participate in their Trunk or Treat event on Oct. 24.

The organization also allowed for many opportunities back at Duquesne, like having one of their executives speak with the club.

The organization also allowed for many opportunities back at Duquesne, like having one of their executives speak with the club.

Ace O’Malley, a sophomore majoring in music therapy, attended the event and had a personal connection to its cause.

“My grandmother had breast cancer,” O’Malley said. “She had six different surgeries. Seeing what she had to go through showed me that I can rise out of any challenge.”

O’Malley worked on creating flowers at the event, utilizing the color pink to represent breast cancer.

Rusiewicz had several family members and loved ones who have suffered from cancer, which made him want to host an event like this.

“The impact of cancer in the community is not just a local issue but an international one,” Rusiewicz said. “The impact I have seen have on myself provided me with the hope to do what I can to get involved and provide support for others.”

He said his goal behind Petals For Patients was to show the patients that students truly cared. That’s why they chose to do handmade items, something the patients could cherish and look back on.

“I think it would help them because it provides comfort in a dark time,” Rusiewicz said. “In a way, it provides them a way out.”

Peter Wood, a first-year medical student, thought the event would be a small way of repaying the community by helping others. Wood’s grandmother suffered from cancer and died at age 93. He was in the third grade.

“What it really taught me was the difference between quality of life and care,” Wood said. “With her age and everything, she refused chemo because she didn’t want to have to go through it.”

Other organizers of the event included fraternities Alpha Phi Delta, Alpha Gamma Delta and the Oncology Student Interest Group.

When the club started in the spring, it had 35 members. Now, Rusiewicz said it has grown to 235.

“Having an executive board and members who are willing to get involved means the world to me,” Rusiewicz said. “The growth of this club means we can raise more funds towards nonprofits, hospitals and those battling cancer.”

The club has plans to continue growing. Later this fall, Vasso Paliouras, the founder from Lending Hearts, a local Pittsburgh charity, will give a guest speech. The organization specializes in cancer care for children and young adults. Rusiewicz also talked about potential partnerships with St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

“We want to continue to grow as a community,” Rusiewicz said.

Flowers students made will be distributed at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at a later date.

Ethan Vance can be reached at vancee@duq.edu