Name Rell Sunn | ||
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Died January 2, 1998, Makaha, Hawaii, United States | ||
S2w45 35th annual rell sunn menehune surf contest 2010 at makaha
Rell Kapolioka'ehukai Sunn (July 31, 1950, Makaha, Oahu, Hawaii – January 2, 1998, Makaha, Oahu, Hawaii) was an American world surfing champion. Known as "Queen of Makaha" and "Aunty Rell", she was a pioneer in the world of Women's surfing.
Contents
- S2w45 35th annual rell sunn menehune surf contest 2010 at makaha
- 2010 odkf waterman awards duke kahanamoku eddie aikau and rell sunn tributes
- Cancer battle
- Death
- Family
- Tributes honors and memorials
- References
2010 odkf waterman awards duke kahanamoku eddie aikau and rell sunn tributes
Cancer battle
In 1982, during a pro surf meet in Huntington Beach, California, Sunn felt a lump in her breast which turned out to be breast cancer. When she was diagnosed in 1983, her prognosis was for one year. Sunn continued to surf every day after her diagnosis, despite the pain and chemotherapy associated with the disease.
Following her diagnosis, Sunn became a radio disc jockey and surf reporter, a physical therapist at a Waianae care home, and a counselor at a cancer research center. She helped pilot a program for breast cancer awareness at the Wai'anae Cancer Research Center that involved educating local women about the causes and prevention of breast cancer.
Over the next 14 years, her cancer went into remission three times, and she underwent a mastectomy and a bone marrow transplant.
Death
Rell Sunn died on January 2, 1998, aged 47. More than 3,000 people attended her memorial service, where her ashes were scattered in the ocean off her native Makaha.
Family
Rell Sunn had one daughter Jan Sunn-Carreira. Sunn-Carreira is married and has two children, Kamalanikauikapolila'i and Kaumanakamokilaokaehuka'i.