Holly Gaston has attended seven Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathons.

But this year's Thon will be the first one she attends cancer-free.

The 17-year-old high school junior has been Alpha Chi Omega sorority and Pi Kappa Phi fraternity's, 409 E. Fairmount Ave., Thon child for more than seven years.

Gaston, of Blairs Mills, was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia at age 3, and was in remission for 13 years.

"This past summer, [I received] the news I had been waiting for all my life: I was confirmed cancer-free," Gaston said, adding that being involved in Thon has dramatically changed her and her family's life.

Meghan Tuohy, an Alpha Chi Omega Thon chair, said sorority members were excited to hear Gaston's news.

"I felt as if it were one of my family members when I got the message that she was cured," she said. "We all cried and sent cards."

Glovia Gaston, Holly's mother, said she could not even begin to express the gratitude the family has for Alpha Chi Omega and Pi Kappa Phi.

"It's amazing how they've kept in contact through the years," she said. "She's been to football games with them, slept over in the dorms, and has received numerous cards and gifts throughout the years."

Alpha Chi Omega and Pi Kappa Phi received a new Thon child this year in addition to Gaston.

Clay Hamman, who will be turning 2 on Feb. 3, was diagnosed with liver cancer last September.

"He went through 12 weeks of chemotherapy, and on Jan. 13, the tumor was small enough to be removed," Patti Hamman, Clay's mother, said.

"He had to have almost 50 percent of his liver removed and will have to go through six more weeks of chemo, but he is doing well," she added.

Emily Holmes, an Alpha Chi Omega Thon chair, said she and about 10 others went to visit Hamman at Hershey Medical Center after his operation.

"We brought him a teddy bear and balloons," she said. "The surgery was perfect, and he passed with flying colors."

Patti Hamman said the sorority and fraternity have really helped Clay and the family through rough times.

"They stopped to see us after canning, and Clay was in love with all the girls," she said. "We are hoping Thon weekend won't be a [chemotherapy] weekend, because Clay would love to be at Thon; he loves music."

Holmes said she and the other sorority and fraternity members first met the Hamman family, from Petersburg, at the Thon family carnival in November.

"We fell in love with him," she said. "We're setting up trying to see him every Thursday at their house, and we sent cards, gifts, the Thon 2004 DVD, Thon hats and bracelets to the family over Christmas break."

Tuohy said that when she saw Hamman in his hospital bed smiling, she wondered how he could be so positive when there is so much going on inside his tiny body.

"His intelligence is astounding, and his laughter is priceless," she said.

"He inspires us. We call Clay our little hero," Tuohy added.

Holmes said Alpha Chi Omega and Pi Kappa Phi have been Thon partners for 21 years.

"We have been in the top three placing organizations for over a decade and second place for eight years," she said. "Last year, we raised $173,841.38 together."