The children of Ruth and Jess Gaytan, of Westminster, have chosen the seventh annual Jodi’s Race for Awareness in Denver’s City Park as the setting for a celebration promising to provide twice the fun.

Using the annual race for awareness of ovarian cancer as a platform, Gaytan daughter Debbie Nesbitt is bringing parents, siblings, grandchildren and great-grandchildren together as a Jodi’s Race team, and to celebrate two major milestones for the Gaytan family: The 60-year anniversary of Ruth and Jess, and Ruth’s 10-year anniversary as an ovarian cancer survivor.

Nesbitt was inspired to form a team after learning of the Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance and the annual Jodi’s Race from a patient at Aspen Family Care in Highlands Ranch, where Nesbitt is medical assistant.

For Nesbitt, putting together a family team to participate in the Cancer Alliance fundraiser was the perfect way to celebrate her parents’ 60th wedding anniversary, which just so happens to fall on the same day as the race, June 11.

“We just feel so fortunate that mom’s treatment was successful and are thrilled to expand this year’s celebration to include Jodi’s Race, and all the other wonderful women who have been touched by ovarian cancer,” Nesbitt said.

It was particularly easy to convince her mother to join, Nesbitt said. She’s happy to walk in the race to advocate for awareness and is also looking forward to the pre-race Survivors’ Breakfast, where she’ll collect 10 strands of colorful beads — one for every year of survival — and a goody bag with special gifts.

“We are so blessed to still have her in our life,” Nesbitt said of her mother, who turned 78 on May 3. “She’s an inspiration to us all.”

Like many women who experience ovarian cancer, Gaytan started feeling ill several months before a doctor accurately identified the problem. Fortunately for Gaytan, 68 years old at the time, the physician she consulted was familiar with ovarian cancer and ordered an ultrasound: The diagnosis of Stage 3 ovarian cancer was followed by surgery and six months of chemotherapy. Only 45 percent of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer live past five years, according to a spokeswoman for the Ovarian Cancer Alliance.

Since that time, despite no knowledge of a family history of ovarian cancer, Nesbitt said she and her sisters, Benita and Rose, receive regular checkups.

Some common symptoms of ovarian cancer are bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly, and urinary urgency or frequency. An annual gynecological exam does not check for ovarian cancer and there is no specific screening test for it, so being able to recognize the symptoms, leading to early detection, is critical to saving lives.

Following the race, the Gaytan family plans to celebrate the way they do every year.

“The anniversary lunch downtown is a longstanding tradition for our family,” Nesbitt said.