BLOOMINGTON - Marcia Talley said she didn't want to be known as "the woman who really, really commuted well."

She had long wanted to be a novelist. And faced with her own mortality after she was diagnosed with cancer, she said, "If not now, when?"

So in December 1999 she decided to retire from her job managing the computers at the U.S. Naval Academy Library in Annapolis and went on sabbatical with her husband, Barry. She embarked on a new career that has spawned five Hannah Ives mysteries so far.

More than 200 cancer survivors, family members and supporters filled a ballroom when Talley spoke Thursday night at the Cancer Survivors Day Celebration. The annual event sponsored by the Community Cancer Center was at the Interstate Center, 2301 W. Market St., Bloomington.

The novelist talked about her own diagnosis of cancer, the stories she adapted into her novels and the main character of her books, who also is a cancer survivor. As she went through her own treatment and met survivors and their supporters, she wanted to write about those "smart, funny, resilient people," she said.

Char Huff of Bloomington said that as a four-year cancer survivor, she and others were there to support one another, and that makes the event uplifting.

"So many times, cancer is associated with death," Huff said. "But today, it doesn't have to be that way."

Barb Nathan, executive director of the cancer center, said she thought Thursday's celebration drew the largest turnout for the annual event. The event varies from year to year, and previous ones featured disc jockeys, bands and ice cream socials.

Nathan said the event provides fellowship, and survivors connect and share tremendous amounts of support and joy.

Following Talley's speech, Nathan said to the crowd, "The strength that you give to each other is unlike strength you can get anywhere else."

Sharon Blake of Bloomington smiled as she talked about seeing the women who are survivors in pink shirts at the dinner and how many people she has seen during survivors' laps of Relay for Life events.

Blake and Sharon Gardner of Downs met while the two were undergoing radiation treatment about three years ago, Gardner said. The two became friends, and they often talk for hours, she said.

"There is life after cancer," Gardner said.

Meghan O'Meara of Bloomington walked out of the building with autographed copies of the author's six books in her hands. Her mother, Kim, is a six-year cancer survivor, and she brought her daughter to the event to see and meet other survivors.

Terry Fanis of Bloomington, who was diagnosed with cancer in November 2005, said he was entertained by Talley's speech, and he praised the staff of the Community Cancer Center as "the nicest, kindest people I've ever met in an organization, from the physicians to the guy who sweeps the floor."