This year’s Franklin County Relay for Life will be Saturday at the Franklin Wellness Center in Hampton. Activities will run from 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
This year’s honorary chair is Oz Guerrero, which will be introduced Saturday at 12:30. Oz passed away in August at the age of five after a nearly two-year battle with cancer.
Oz will be represented by his parents; Dave Guerrero and Whittney Hubert. Dave Guerrero tells RadioOnTheGo News Oz’s journey began in late 2023 when he was first diagnosed with liver cancer, which later spread to his lungs.
“From there, he had a liver resection in February and got a lot better. The cancer numbers were down, but then it spread to his lungs and that’s where the really tough battle really began because it’s really hard to manage lung cancer. And so we made a decision to stop treatment so he could live the rest of his life as a normal little boy. So he grew his hair back, got his energy back, and we even traveled out to California so he could go see the ocean and travel and see things he normally wouldn’t see.”
Oz’s mom Whittney Hubert says Oz received 71 chemotherapy treatments and had four surgeries starting in late 2023. His family made the decision to stop treatment in October 2024 so Oz could enjoy being a child again.
Following his treatment, Oz was able to spend more time with family and enjoy his favorite activity, playing with, and dressing up as, superheroes, most notably Spider-Man. Back in February, Oz was honored with a superhero party at Lorados in Mason City. Whitney Hubert says it’s a privilege for her son to be named as honorary chair this year.
“And for us to be the honorary family for Relay was such an honor. And Oz was just so absolutely special. He was such a special boy and he touched so many people. And like Dave said, you know, we both want to continue to keep talking about Oz’s real story because he had such an impact on so many people.”
More information on this year’s event can be found on the Relay for Life of Franklin County Facebook page and also under this story at radioonthego.com.
Photo of Oz, courtesy of Dave Guerrero, during his superhero party in February
