BERKELEY – It will touch everyone’s life eventually.
You might not be a cancer patient, but someone you love is likely to get cancer. According to the World Health Organization, cancer accounted for one in six deaths globally in 2020.
Robyn Griffith, who coordinated the Berkeley-Lacey Relay for Life, said that fundraisers like this helps the American Cancer Society give patients rides to appointments, lodging, and a hotline. It’s the best way to help those struggling with the disease and fight it with researching cures.
“Together we can make the biggest impact to save lives,” she told the group at the opening ceremony at Veterans Park.
The event starts during the day, lasts overnight, and ends the next morning. This symbolizes the darkness that comes with a cancer diagnosis, and the light of hoping for a better tomorrow, Griffith said.
Survivors and loved ones gathered for the opening ceremony of the Berkeley-Lacey Relay For Life. (Photo by Chris Lundy)
Throughout the evening, there were scheduled laps for various groups. The first lap, for example, was made up of survivors.
The event got its start in 1985, when Dr. Gordon Klatt walked and ran for 24 hours around a track in Tacoma, Washington, raising money to help the American Cancer Society. The walk was about 83.6 miles and he raised $27,000. The next year, the Relay for Life was born. It has continually been an overnight event since then. No one walks for 24 hours straight, though. They take turns, and that’s why it’s a relay.
The benefits aren’t just financial, they’re social and emotional as well. Fran Curtis detailed her battle with several cancers. It led her to the Reach To Recovery program, where survivors are partnered with someone who is currently fighting. It helps to have someone who has been through it and knows what it’s like. There’s also Man To Man, for prostate cancer.
Diana Dozois met Curtis through Reach To Recovery. She was three weeks past her own diagnosis when she lost her mother to cancer. Curtis was like a mentor to her through this rough time.
Robyn Griffith coordinated the Relay which gives hope to those whose lives have been touched by cancer. (Photo by Chris Lundy)
There was a tendency among the speakers to use the term “we” when referring to the American Cancer Society. It’s because this is a group effort, and there’s strength in numbers. It’s a club that you don’t want to be a part of, but everyone will be eventually.
Another speaker, Brandon Page, asked people in the audience to put their hands up if they’ve been helped by the American Cancer Society. This could either be getting tested at an early age because the Society recommends it, or having smoke-free restaurants. Eventually, every hand was up.
The first group to take a lap around the field were cancer survivors. (Photo by Chris Lundy)
“You are all the American Cancer Society,” he said.
After the event, Griffith thanked everyone involved in the endeavor. The event raised more than $24,000. She said it couldn’t have been done without the volunteers and support from the town.
For more information on how to help, or how to get help, visit cancer.org.
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