Relay for Life celebrates 25th national year
MICHAEL RUKAVINAArticle Photos
It didn't matter your color, age, size or the direction in which you were walking around the track Saturday; everyone was fighting the same battle.
Cancer doesn't fight fair, but the sight on the SUNY Fredonia campus showed that it didn't matter, especially when support and strength from family and friends help to even the playing field.
Hundreds of people, including cancer survivors, committee volunteers, walkers and fundraising teams, met on the SUNY Fredonia track for the 11th annual Relay held on its grounds.
The Relay for Life itself, however is celebrating its 25th birthday, which helped create the year's theme for Relay and future American Cancer Society events.
"One of the new things we're talking about is helping people celebrate more birthdays, so people who are surviving cancer can celebrating more and more birthdays," said Community Executive for the American Cancer Society, Michael Porpiglia. "Happy Birthday is a victory song, because a world with less cancer is a world with more birthdays."
Last year, survivors who registered for the event numbered around 100 and this year, according to Porpiglia, 131 survivors were walking the track. Two of those 131 survivors included this year's Honorary Survivorship Chairs, who were unique in that they are married and have both survived cancer.
"My wife Leslie was diagnosed with breast cancer 12 years ago and I was diagnosed with prostate cancer four years ago," Bill Leslie of Dunkirk said.
Four years ago, Bill said he was actually walking around the track with cancer prior to his surgery at Roswell Park. The best part of the Relay for Life, he said, was to then be able to learn and talk about his cancer and to now be able to relate and bring hope to those fighting the same battle.
"What it does, it gives you the ability to talk to someone else about it ... I know what it's like when that mask comes down over your face, knowing you have a one in 200 chance (in my case) of not coming through the operation," Leslie said. "Even though it's slight, it's not slight to that one person of the 200. You can relate to people, talk to them about having cancer, so it opens a whole new door of ministry and understanding and acceptance.
"I don't know if there are any revelations - that I live life more fully today and so on - but when you're young you don't think about things like this. But when you know that you have cancer it changes things, in a sense. You become more aware of your mortality, but you still live life to the fullest and with the attitude that if it does come back you're going to fight it."
Bill and Beverly walked the survivor's lap Saturday afternoon and spoke to the crowd before the events began, stating they were grateful to God for giving them a chance to survive. There is power in numbers with any fight, and that is no different in the fight against cancer. Following the survivor's lap, the caregiver's lap was held and if you weren't a cancer survivor at the event, chances are you were a supporter in the fight against it.
"Purple Pride is a team that my mother started last year because she had thyroid cancer," said Dan Bolles, a 7-year supporter of the relay. "We learned then that my dad had non-hodgkin lymphoma during the winter.
"Our team is Purple Pride, but it's also Purple Pride in Lynn's Legacy, and Lynn's Legacy is in memory of a woman named Lynn Han who was a school guidance counselor at Pine Valley Central School. She touched a lot of people's lives and unfortunately she put her kids' lives in front of her own life and skipped going to the doctors, and all of a sudden one day she finally had to go to the doctor and she had found out that she had an incurable amount of cancer in her jaw. She passed from it, so we added her on to our team name."
A total of 59 teams surrounded the track to support the fight Saturday, hoping to raise this year's goal of $93,000 for the American Cancer Society. As of 5 p.m. Saturday, the Relay had already raised $73,000. Each team was doing their part, whether a cooperate business, non-profit group, school or family.
"Our team is The Missing Links. My maiden name is Link and my parents both died of cancer," Maggie Owen of Dunkirk said. "We always joked around about being the missing Links and I thought that was pretty appropriate. The Missing Links have been here for four years, but I've been doing this for 10 years. If they can raise enough money to help one person, I think that's pretty cool."
The Missing Links were tie-dying Relay for Life T-shirts as a fundraiser for the event. If it wasn't a homemade idea that teams were using, it was the sale of luminaries for $5. According to Porpiglia, over 1,300 luminaries were purchased in honor (for those who have survived or are fighting cancer) or in memory (of those who have passed away from cancer). Each was placed around the track and lit.
"To me it's to make sure that the people who are here and are survivors now are here again next year, and that's what I look forward to," Bolles said. "Today there was a lot of purple shirts (worn by survivors) on the track and it was nice to see all of those purple shirts, especially knowing that two of them were my parents. When I get done at the end of the day I hope we have raised just enough money to one day just have a big party instead of trying to find the research and a cure for cancer. I can't wait until we can just get together to just celebrate everyone who has survived."
Porpiglia and four other community members spoke during the luminary ceremony. Survivors, caregivers, family and friends raised their own personal glowsticks in the audience when asked. A slow tempo walk around the track followed for those to remember and honor the names on the luminaries placed around it. At the same time, hundreds of people remembered those lost, those fighting and those who have won. It was a powerful moment.
Proceeds raised during the event go to the American Cancer Society, most of which supports local programs.
"The money helps support a lot of our local programs like our Road to Recovery, which transports patients, and our Hope Lodge in Buffalo, where people can stay. In addition to that, we give a lot of money into the area for research because Roswell Park is in our backyard. It's helping patients right here in Western New York," Porpiglia said. "We have a couple different programs as well, like our Reach to Recovery, which is a support group for woman going through breast cancer and we also have a Man to Man support group that helps men that are undergoing or who have been through cancer treatment."
Relay season is at its peak in June across the country, but anyone can help out anytime of the year by contacting the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org or by calling 1-800-227-2345 to ask questions about cancer, make a donation or to volunteer for any of the programs or events.
Comments on this article may be sent to mrukavina@observertoday.com
