American Cancer Society's DuPage office loses a leader

For many newly diagnosed women, the visit to the cancer society's wig boutique ends in tears.

Karen Woronicz, regional director of the American Cancer Society DuPage Area Office - a woman "who always looked like she came out of Vogue," according to a close friend - would come out of her office to offer comfort and show that she, too, was wearing a wig.

Woronicz was a two-time breast cancer survivor who started at the office as a volunteer. With her strong leadership skills and friendly, compassionate nature, she quickly moved up the ranks.

"She was dedicated to the fight against cancer like nobody else," said Chris Hensley, regional vice president of the American Cancer Society. "It was not only a profession for her, it was a personal passion as well."

Woronicz, of Inverness, died Sunday, less than a week after her 52nd birthday.

She was a woman of "incredible courage, incredible spirit," her husband, Edmund Woronicz, said Tuesday. "She had this smile that would light up a room."

Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999, Woronicz was cancer-free for six years. She had a degree in political science and a background in local government, but decided to devote her life to the fight against the disease.

The cancer returned, but "every day she got up and she came here," said Kathy LaPointe, bookkeeper in the DuPage office, a close friend and a cancer survivor. "You'd never know she was sick, until the end.'

The two would walk the survivors lap together at local Relay for Life events, "then go back to work," LaPointe said.

The funeral is Saturday in South Easton, Mass., but a Chicago-area memorial service will be held in late April or early May, Edmund Woronicz said. The couple are members of Holy Family Catholic Church in Inverness.

Other survivors include her sister, Janis Gilson, of South Easton; her brothers Art Peterson and Alan Peterson, both of Rutland, Vt., and many nieces, nephews and extended family members.

Donations may be made to the American Cancer Society DuPage Area Office, 1801 S. Meyers Road, Suite 100, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181.

"She battled cancer for 11 years," her husband said. "The good thing is, with the exception of the last three or four days, her quality of life was excellent. It was a very peaceful passing, but certainly much too soon."