Fundraiser to help Ruth Savino fight ‘an awful, awful disease’
— Photo from Betty Filkins
“I Got You” bracelets will be for sale at an April 18 fundraiser for Ruth Savino, who has been battling breast cancer. Here, Savino, at left, holds her bracelet up with her sister, Betty Filkins.
WESTERLO — A year ago, family, friends, church members, and people who had never met Ruth Savino helped raise several thousand dollars to pay for her cancer treatments.
It worked well, but her surgeries and treatments have continued, so another fundraiser is organized for her, at the Westerlo Reformed Church on April 18.
Savino, who lives in Westerlo near her siblings, has had Stage 3 invasive ductal breast cancer since insisting on a mammogram. Since then, she has undergone various procedures to address infections and treat the cancer, with a total of three surgeries.
Throughout, her sister, Betty Filkins, has been an energetic advocate and bouy.
“My sister is 15 years younger than I am. She’s very quiet. I’m the opposite,” said Filkins.
Savino loves animals and children, her sister said, and used to be an assistant to a veterinarian in Medusa. Later, she worked as a teacher’s aid at Berne-Knox-Westerlo, then as a babysitter until she became sick.
Savino has been strong and healthy most of her life, Filkins said, tapping maple trees and chain-sawing firewood on the land where she and her husband, Stephen, live.
Since the diagnosis, the financial weight of treatment has been heavy, but Filkins has been trying to change that. She attends all medical visits with her sister, and takes notes, typing up medical histories to hand to doctors, and summaries of the visits to email to family members.
For this year, costs not covered by insurance that Savino is expecting to have to meet are $6,000.
Starting at 2 p.m. next Saturday, a cookie sale will be held at the church, where tickets for a large silent auction may be purchased. At 4 p.m., a dinner will start, with spaghetti, meatballs, salads, and cookies available for $10 per person.
The evening will conclude with the auction, which includes prizes of a reserved condo in a Lake Placid resort, dinner for two at Sperry’s restaurant in Saratoga, wines, various gift baskets, and baseball memorabilia.
From last year’s fundraiser, Savino was able to meet almost all of her medical expenses. Some of the people who helped hadn’t ever met Savino. This year, she’s hoping to be able to attend.
“I think people like to be able to help,” said Filkins. “Cancer’s an awful, awful disease.”
