For Covington resident Debbie Mormino, fighting cancer is a deeply personal battle.

“Every close blood relative I have has died from cancer,” she said. “Testicular, lung, colon or breast cancer, I’ve lost too many people I love.”

Mormino spent several years as a deputy with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office before going to work as a licensed health insurance agent. Hurricane Katrina seriously compromised her business, so she began looking at other options.

Debbie Mormino

Last year, she discovered PlexusPink, a worldwide company based in Arizona that manufactures and distributes the Breast Chek Kit, which helps individuals to do a more thorough monthly self-exam of the breast.

Mormino lost a dear friend to breast cancer last fall. About a week later she discovered the kit at a health fair and thought it would make a great Christmas gift for all the women on her list. She’d left her checkbook at home, however, so she got a business card from the PlexusPink representative, figuring she would call to place an order later.

She decided to go online, and when she saw the company Web site, she found that anyone could sell the kits.

“I felt like my friend was telling me, ‘I sent you this, now what are you gonna do with it’,” she said.

Mormino herself has had two benign lumps removed from her mammary glands, where 80 percent of all breast tumors start. According to Mormino, doing the monthly self-exam consistently allows both women and men to become familiar with what is normal and also helps to quickly identify something that is abnormal.

Stage one cancer is very tiny and can go undetected by mammogram. In addition, 75 percent of breast cancer patients have no family history.

In the last year or so, with her children grown and out of the house, Mormino realized it was time to get more involved. She became a cancer advocate, volunteering with the American Cancer Society in 2007 and organizing a team for the group’s annual Relay for Life fundraiser.

It was there that she found out about the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

“When I realized I could help raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, I was really excited,” said Mormino. “He is an incredibly positive force, and the group really puts an emphasis on surviving and living through cancer.”

Founded in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong, the group is dedicated to raising awareness and funds for the fight against cancer. For several years, approximately 200 delegates have traveled to Washington, D.C. to demand that the nation’s leaders invest in resources, treatment and services for those affected by cancer.

This year, however, the foundation decided to shift the focus from legislators and lobbyists to people in their local communities and is staging a number of grassroots events around the country called LIVESTRONG Day on May 13.

Mormino volunteered to be the coordinator for Southeast Louisiana.

The events will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at two main locations, Lakeview Regional Medical Center and the St. Tammany Hospital Outpatient Pavilion.

The events organized by Mormino are part of 500 local LIVESTRONG Day events to be held across the country to engage communities with events that increase awareness and show support for cancer survivors and their loved ones.

For a minimum $10 donation, vendors can set up a booth and advertise their wares while also raising awareness about cancer. Mormino said the fee was set low to encourage even private citizens to participate.

“Say there’s a grandmother who has lost someone to cancer, and maybe she wants to sell brownies,” she said. “This way she can support the organization while reaching out to the community.”

All 20 tables at the STH Outpatient Pavilion are sold out, and only eight out of 30 are still available at Lakeview.

A number of vendors will participate, offering a number of items to make life easier for cancer patients or anyone involved with cancer patients.

Included will be chiropractors and physicians such as Dr. Lesley Rodrigue and the Halo machine, which extracts liquid from the breast that can predict likelihood of developing cancer within eight years. Also on hand will be financial consultants, Southern Living at Home, Mary Kay Cosmetics, ballroom dancing instructors and more.

Mormino has also coordinated events in Metairie, Harvey and Livingston. Thibodaux Regional Cancer Center had initially intended to participate but had to back out, as they are a nonprofit hospital and are prohibited from raising funds for another nonprofit organization.

She started working on the event about three months ago and said that finding locations at first was like “pulling teeth.” Mormino guesses she has probably contacted every health club and hospital in southeast Louisiana before they slowly started coming on board.

Mormino had hoped to end the day with a candlelight vigil at some of the area churches but was extremely disappointed to get no response from any that she contacted.

Mormino said juggling event activities along with her career and family has been a challenge. She also has a new grandson and a daughter on bed rest due to pregnancy complications.

She remains committed to the organization and said if they continue with the local events next year she will only focus on St. Tammany. She admits, however, that working on the event has taken more than 100 percent of her time.

“I’m trying to find a balance,” said Mormino. “I sometimes have trouble finding the ‘off’ switch.”

For more information on LIVESTRONG Day activities, call 892-5858.