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Reasons to be at the Relay For Life

Annual Cancer Society fundraiser begins Friday at MAC

By DONNA HICKMAN
Daily Journal Staff Writer

Thursday, July 24, 2008

You’re not on a team. You’re not a cancer survivor. You’ve never even been to the Relay For Life. Why go this year?

“Because it’s a great way to show you care about the fight against cancer and the people whose lives are touched by it,” said Carolyn Tyler, Chairman of the Relay For Life of St. Francois County which begins Friday. “And it’s always a good time.”

There’s a chance of rain on Friday, but the skies are predicted to be merely partly cloudy Friday night as the Relay gets under way.

The annual fundraiser for the American Cancer Society will bring 44 teams to Mineral Area College to walk a track set up for the night. Their goal is to celebrate, remember and fight back to win the battle against cancer.

Al Thurman knows what that battle is like. When doctors put a stint in his heart, they asked him how long he’d had lung cancer. He didn’t know it was there. Now, after treatment, it’s in remission. He is the Honorary Survivor who will address the crowd during opening ceremonies at 7 p.m.

Margaret Cannell celebrates her survival after breast cancer and will travel around the country over the next year as a Cancer Society Hero of Hope. About 200 survivors have registered to take part in the Relay. They’ll take the first lap around the track after opening ceremonies. Those who cannot walk the track will be able to ride in a golf cart.

After the survivor laps, team members will take turns walking the track all night. At 9 p.m., there will be a luminaria ceremony when candles are lit around the track honoring those who have battled cancer. And this year, the names of those in whose honor the luminaria are placed won’t just be read aloud, they’ll be scrolled across a video screen during the luminaria ceremony about 9 p.m. Friday.

   “I think this will be a very nice addition!” said Arlene Jones, Luminaria Chair. “People can purchase them for $5 in the early hours of the Relay.”

At 11 p.m., theme laps begin when teams may dress in costume to walk. Midnight madness includes crazy games to keep the energy up and the teams on the track.

“Everybody can come out and take a lap around the track,” said Tyler. “By the time the event is over, at least 1,000 people have been to the Relay each year.”

Closing ceremonies begin at 6 a.m. Saturday where the top team fundraiser, individual fundraiser, team spirit and team camp sites will be honored.

The Relay is designed to mimic a cancer patient’s battle through the disease. From the optimism just before sundown, to the difficult times that come in treatment symbolized by the dark night and finally, the sunrise that symbolizes the cancer patient’s renewed strength and victory.

Last year, the event raised almost $170,000 to help the American Cancer Society fund services for cancer patients like the Patient Education Resource Center located inside USA Drug on Karsch Blvd. in Farmington.

 That’s where Julie Courtois went after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in December of 2006. She said she worried not so much about her health as she did her family’s finances.

“I had a 2-year-old daughter, I would have to miss a good amount of work, and I didn’t have insurance to cover the costs of all the treatments,” she said. During her lumpectomy, seven rounds of chemotherapy, and 36 radiation treatments, Courtois found information, support and free supplies at the PERC.

“I received nutritional supplements, two wigs, which would have cost hundreds of dollars somewhere else, and turbans,” she said. “They also gave me a $50 gas card to help out with the expenses of driving to and from treatments.”

Courtois finished her treatment in July 2007 but a follow-up exam with the doctor two months later revealed a lump in the other breast. In October, she had a double mastectomy and her cancer went into remission. Courtois again visited the PERC and was able to get a breast prosthesis free of charge. Battling and surviving cancer has changed her outlook.

 “Cancer caused me to  rearrange my priorities really fast as far as material things go. I try to live each day to the fullest and do things I truly enjoy,” she said.

Money raised at Relay also helps fund research for a cure. The ACS is now funding 12 researchers in St. Louis totaling $7,885,500 and funding a  total of 18 research grants in Missouri and 954 grants in the U.S. that total more than $461 million.

Teams who have been raising money for months keep raising money at the Relay. The Driving For A Cure team will giveaway an Afternoon Delight valued at $190 from Fidgett’s to someone who donates to their team.

The New Beginnings Team will take donations at the Relay and give away an autographed baseball by Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals and a guitar signed by a number of country music stars.

The Daily Journal Team will give away a ring and a wreath to someone who makes a donation to their team and will sell mini-brag scrapbooks and stickers that walkers can fill in with the name of the person for whom they are taking part in the Relay. The Daily Journal is a corporate sponsor of the event.

There will be food to buy, souvenirs to take home and music by Charlie Berry and Music Unlimited.

“If you’ve never been to the Relay For Life, come out and see what we’re all about,” said Tyler. “I guarantee you’ll have a good time and make a memory.”

Donna Hickman is a reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact her at 431-2010, ext. 138 or at dhickman@dailyjournalonline.com.

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