LOWELL — Nick Arloro was one of the driving forces behind the opening of a cancer center at Lowell General Hospital back in 1999.
"He felt it was important to have a cancer center north of Boston so people wouldn't have to commute," said his daughter, Julie Arloro-Metha.
In November, the long-time Lowell General treasurer was diagnosed with cancer himself, and was treated at the same center he fought so hard to bring to the hospital.
But his cancer progressed quickly, and he died a month later at the age of 70.
His two daughters were devastated. But they also wanted to do something to honor their father's memory. So they formed Team Nick, a group of family members and friends who will take part in Sunday's TeamWalk, which raises funds to support patients as they go through treatment at Lowell General Hospital's Cancer Center.
"The walk was very important for him," said Arloro-Metha, 41, of North Andover. "When people get down on their luck and they have cancer on top of it, they can use an extra lift."
Now in its 11th year, the event has raised $3.5 million and provided more than 10,000 cancer patients with assistance. The money generated helps pay for medication, nutritional supplements, wigs and prosthetics, support groups, skilled nursing visits, transportation to and from treatment, cancer support groups and prevention programs.
"The walk was started because the Cancer Center realized early on that some of the most important things for people facing the disease had nothing to do with medicine," said Kathy Sullivan, Lowell General's corporate relations and events manager.
The first year, 1,800 walkers participated, but that number had grown to 4,000 by last year, necessitating a move from the hospital grounds to the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.
When the staff at Lowell General Hospital found out that Nick Arloro's family would be participating in this year's TeamWalk, they invited Arloro-Metha to join the advisory board.
By attending those meetings and talking to Lowell General employees, Arloro-Metha said she has learned a great deal about her father that she never knew before.
"They'll come and say hi to me and tell me things about my dad, things I didn't necessarily know," she said. "I wasn't privy to that side of him."
For example, Arloro-Metha said she never knew that her father dressed up every year at the hospital's employee appreciation event. One year he was a nun, another, he was Elvis.
His former co-workers also told her that her father "would do anything and everything for somebody who needed help."
Participating in the walk has also provided Arloro-Metha and her sister, Amanda Arloro of Kennebunk, Maine, with a sense of closure.
"It's made my sister and I very close, and helped us understand our father a little better," Arloro-Metha said. "We only saw the dad that was at home. We never saw the dad who was working out there, doing things for the community."
If you go
What: TeamWalk
When: Sunday, May 16; registration begins at 7:30 a.m., 6.2-mile walk starts at 9 a.m., 3-mile walk starts at 10 a.m.
Where: Starts and ends at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell
How: Make a donation or register to walk at www.lowellgeneral.org/teamwalk or call the TeamWalk hotline at 978-937-6434
