PINK: MORE THAN A COLOR
Ruth Nicolaus
Abilene rodeo partners with local cancer fund to raise money
Abilene, Kan. (July 7, 2025) – The Zillyettes: Jeff and Cheryl, have had a tumultuous few years. The husband and wife duo, of Herington, Kansas, have both had cancer, with Jeff suffering a remission and having it a second time. It started in November of 2023 when Jeff, a painter, didn’t feel good. He went to the doctor, who did some x-rays but couldn’t find anything wrong. He had had a cyst on the back of his neck for years, so while he was at the doctor, Cheryl suggested he get it removed. But when he had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic he took before surgery, the doctor ran tests. And those tests showed cancer: nodules on his lungs and chest area: stage 4 cancer, Hodgkins Lymphoma. Jeff started chemotherapy treatment in December 2023 in Topeka. After some side effects and a temporary stop to the chemo, he rang the “done with cancer” bell on July 3, 2024. But in April of that year, Cheryl’s cancer was diagnosed. She’d had a mammogram, and after reading it, the doctor called her to the hospital for a biopsy and thirty days of radiation, trips from home in Herington to Manhattan every day.
She was able to work through treatment. As the cafeteria general manager for a large plant near Herington, she would work in the morning, go home and change clothes, head to Manhattan for treatment, and stop by work afterwards for a few hours before returning home. She rang her “done with cancer” bell five days after her husband, and life returned to normal in the Zillyette household. But in October of last year, Jeff didn’t feel good again. He knew something wasn’t right, but he and his family, including son Jeff Jr., were going to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving to see his mom and sisters. So he put off a hospital visit. After Thanksgiving, doctors did a PET scan. His cancer was back, and it was stage three. He immediately went to University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, where he started chemotherapy: one day on, seven days off. It was harsh chemo, to kill the cancer, six weeks of it with Cheryl and his sisters taking turns staying with him in Kansas City.
All the while, Cheryl continued to work as much as she could, between caring for Jeff. The Elsie Brooks Memorial Cancer Fund stepped in to help. The fund, created in 1991, provides financial assistance to any Dickinson County resident who is undergoing cancer treatment. Cheryl didn’t know where to turn for help, but a social worker recommended she call the fund. She did, and got ahold of Janice Deal, one of the volunteers who helps with the Elsie Brooks fund. “She told me, we’ll help you the best we can,” Cheryl said. “And they helped out tremendously. It helped so much. Gas is expensive, and we were going to Topeka twice a week (for Jeff’s treatment) and to Manhattan every day for thirty days for my treatment.” It took the pressure off, Cheryl said. “I knew I had bills coming in. I thought, I have to get a second job, but I don’t have enough time in the day for a second job.”
The Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo partners with the Elsie Brooks Fund, raising money through voluntary donations on the rodeo’s Tough Enough to Wear Pink night, on July 31. Fans are asked to wear pink to the rodeo that night, and buckets are passed for people to donate to the fund. The rodeo has partnered with the Elsie Brooks Fund since 2008, and has raised over $49,000 for the fund. One hundred percent of money donated to the fund is dispersed to clients; none is used for administrative costs or expenses. Jeff and Cheryl have three daughters and a son. Their son, Jeff Jr., who is 17 years old, was impacted by his parents’ cancer journeys. “He grew up real fast,” Cheryl said. “He’s been a good supporter and a real caregiver.”Having cancer has changed their perspective, she said.
“I don’t take anything for granted. It makes you think, oh, my gosh, will we see our son graduate? My daughter just had a baby. Will we see our grandkids grow up?” It has softened her heart for others, too. “It makes me look at people in general, and keep a smile on my face because you never know what the other person might be going through.” She has advice for those facing cancer. “It’s not the end of the world. You might feel like it is, but with all the new technology out there, every day they’re coming up with something new to kill the cancer.
“If you have a sore, or something doesn’t feel right, go to the doctor, no matter what it costs, just go. If my husband hadn’t gone in and got that cyst cut off, he would probably be dead.” Fans can donate to the Elsie Brooks Fund at the rodeo on Tough Enough to Wear Pink night, on July 31, at the Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo. The rodeo, at the fairgrounds in Abilene, is July 29-August 1. Performances begin at 7:30 pm nightly. Tickets are $12 for adults in advance and $15 at the gate. Children’s tickets (for ages 4-10) are $8.
Tickets can be purchased online at WildBillHickokRodeo.com, at West’s Country Mart, Lumber House, Pioneer Farm and Ranch Supply, and at the gate.
