Concert Friday in Oxford to promote Griffin Hospital 5K Walk/Run

Cancer survivor Mark Solotruk and The Orchard Hill Band will host a free concert Friday to promote the annual 5K Walk/Run to benefit the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital, which takes place Saturday./ Contributed photo


DERBY - This year’s Annual 5K Walk-Run to Benefit the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital offers the community a chance to rock out before the run!

The Orchard Hill Band will perform a free concert at 6 p.m. Friday at the Town Green at Quarry Rock, 300 Oxford Road, Oxford. The event will include raffles and food will be available for purchase.

Attendees can sign up for the Walk/Run at the show and get a $5 discount on the 5K registration. Race T-shirts will be distributed to 5K participants.

Mark Solotruk, vocalist for the Orchard Hill Band, organized the concert as a way to thank the Center for Cancer Care for the care he received in 2018.
Solotruk was diagnosed with base of the tongue carcinoma and received more than 30 radiation treatments at the Center. 
As a singer, the diagnosis was especially hard on Solotruk. Instead of letting the disease bring him down, Solotruk strengthened his resolve to not only beat the cancer, but return to sing for a family picnic scheduled shortly after his treatments. 
The day before his show, Solotruk came to the Center with feelings of dehydration. The staff administered an IV, and within hours, he had the strength he needed to perform the next day - an act for which he is forever thankful to the Center’s staff.

The Annual 5K Walk/Run to benefit the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital, 350 Seymour Ave., Derby, will celebrate its 11th year Saturday.
This non-competitive, family-friendly event begins with day-of registration at 7:30 a.m., and the Walk/Run kicking off at 9 a.m.

Registration is $35. Pre-registration is encouraged at griffinhealth.org/5k with the first 500 registered participants receiving t-shirts. 
Participants will also receive a free gift from the Sports Center of Connecticut in Shelton.

All proceeds are dedicated to providing exceptional, personalized cancer care and to help ease the financial burden Griffin’s cancer patients face as they undergo treatment.

Individuals and teams can register online at griffinhealth.org/5k. 
For more information, contact Laura Murphy at lkmurphy@griffinhealth.org.


This is a press release from Griffin Hospital.