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<p>KINGSTON &#8212; Mary Ruskey never thought she would be in a fashion show.</p><p>But she&#8217;ll make her way down the runway clad in sporty black pants and a lavender shirt at Candy&#8217;s Place Seventh Annual Fashion Show &amp; Luncheon July 10.</p><p>A pancreatic cancer survivor, the 71-year-old said she was leaving the center one day when Melanie Socash, communications representative, said, &#8220;Could you do me a favor?&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I said, &#8216;What do you want me to do now?&#8221; Ruskey asked, laughing.</p><p>She thinks so highly of the center, she said, she agreed to go outside her comfort zone, joining about 15 others on stage in a variety of colors, perfectly made up and donning appropriate accessories.</p><p>Several area retail stores have offered clothing for the fashion show, with Ruskey having opportunity to make her selection during a trip to The Limited.</p><p>The Dress Barn, Buca and Sarno and Sons also provided clothing, with participants enjoying the chance to visit the stores and choose an outfit.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m wearing lavender for pancreatic cancer,&#8221; said Ruskey, who is fighting her second bout with the disease.</p><p>&#8220;In the year, 2000, I came down with ovarian cancer. Fourteen years later, I found out I had pancreatic cancer,&#8221; she said.</p><p>The difference this time around, she said, is the hope and positivity she received from Candy&#8217;s Place.</p><p>&#8220;A few minutes after I walked in, I felt like I had known them forever,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I can&#8217;t say enough.&#8221;</p><p>Ruskey said she would encourage anyone battling cancer to take advantage of the center, which offers massage, reiki, exercise classes and facials.</p><p>She especially enjoys reiki, a healing technique that uses touch to assist in healing.</p><p>&#8220;The great thing is that caregivers are also able to benefit from services,&#8221; she said. &#8220;My husband likes getting a massage.&#8221;</p><p>Socash said the fashion show provides opportunity not simply to raise money for the center, but for patients to be pampered.</p><p>She said patients vary in their experience of cancer, with some continuing to look and feel well, while other struggle a bit with issues such as hair loss.</p><p>All, she said, benefit from gathering together and supporting each other, having shared the similar experiences of having cancer.</p><p>The fashion show, she said, provides opportunity for patients to show their unique personalities.</p><p>&#8220;Last year, one of our patients went all out with a top hat and tails,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Another guy just wore nice shorts with a much more casual look.&#8221;</p><p>The center was founded in memory of Candice Vincent-Mamary, a social worker diagnosed with end-stage lung cancer in 1997.</p><p>Before she died, Vincent-Mamary told her sister, Penny Cunningham, she wanted something good to come of her disease.</p><p>Cunningham was quick to act on her sister&#8217;s wish.</p><p>Candy&#8217;s Place was founded in 1998, getting its start at Cunningham&#8217;s kitchen table.</p><p>&#8220;I simply started with what I knew - yoga,&#8221; she said.</p><p>The center, now well settled on Welles Street in Forty Fort, is a hub of support for those with cancer and their caregivers.</p><p>Although patients have the benefit of activities and events scheduled throughout the year, they say having opportunity to spend time with other patients and to be reassured they are not alone, is what they value most.</p><p>&#8220;At first, I was devastated by the diagnosis,&#8221; said Ruskey. &#8220;But, then I started talking about it and I realized that I wasn&#8217;t alone.&#8221;</p><p>The event, with an expected attendance of about 300 people, will also provide a basket raffle with contents that vary from a basket of cheer to an Italian themed basket, complete with pasta and sauce, to framed art.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Rose Lackenmier, second from left, and Ellen Savakinas, third from left, try on clothes at Buka in Shavertown to wear in an upcoming fashion show for Candy&#8217;s Place. Also pictured are, Joanna Gover, left, proprietor of Buka; and Chris Ostroski, director of Candy&#8217;s Place. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_fashionshow01.jpg</photo0><caption0>Rose Lackenmier, second from left, and Ellen Savakinas, third from left, try on clothes at Buka in Shavertown to wear in an upcoming fashion show for Candy&#8217;s Place. Also pictured are, Joanna Gover, left, proprietor of Buka; and Chris Ostroski, director of Candy&#8217;s Place. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_fashionshow03.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ellen Savakinas, left, picks out clothes at Buka in Shavertown to wear in an upcoming fashion show for Candy&#8217;s Place. Also pictured is Joanna Gover, proprietor of Buka. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_fashionshow03.jpg</photo1><caption1>Ellen Savakinas, left, picks out clothes at Buka in Shavertown to wear in an upcoming fashion show for Candy&#8217;s Place. Also pictured is Joanna Gover, proprietor of Buka. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_fashionshow02.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Rose Lackenmier tries on clothes at Buka in Shavertown to wear in an upcoming fashion show for Candy&#8217;s Place. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_fashionshow02.jpg</photo2><caption2>Rose Lackenmier tries on clothes at Buka in Shavertown to wear in an upcoming fashion show for Candy&#8217;s Place. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>ggibbons@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Candy&#8217;s Place, the Wellness Center: Seventh Annual Fashion show </strong></p><p><strong>When:</strong> Sunday, July 10</p><p><strong>Time:</strong> 11 a.m.-3p.m.</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Woodlands, Route 315, Wilkes-Barre</p><p><strong>Tickets:</strong> $25 per person</p><p>Tickets can be purchased by calling 570-714-8800 or by stopping at the center at 190 Welles St., Forty Fort</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGGibbons</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Candy’s Place, the Wellness Center, to sponsor fashion show