Why do I Relay?

A few years ago, I was asked why I Relay (aka participate in the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life).  I started in support of a good friend of the family who is a multiple cancer survivor.  After I was asked this question, I sat down and made a list of all the people I knew who had battled against cancer.  Some had won their battle(s), some gave it their all but lost their war.  It is a horrible disease, both for the people who have it and the people around them.  I am not a very social person and I easily came up with about 30 people.  Each year, I update my list.  I dislike adding people to my support list, but I would much rather have them on there than on my memory list.  In March, I added my father to the support list and I moved my best friend’s husband to the memory list.  Today I moved his daughter’s mother-in-law to the memory list.  My dog Gracye, the unofficial SJC Relay mascot, joined the memory list in May.

Cancer is an equal opportunity disease that affects all people of all ages.  It does not care how popular you are or the amount of money you have in the bank.  What is important is finding a way to build up the weapons used in the war against cancer.  In 1913, if you were diagnosed with cancer, odds were your doctor would not even tell you.  If you did know, you would not tell anybody so as to not bring shame upon your family.  Hearing the words, “you have cancer” was usually equal to being handed a death sentence.  The American Society for the Control of Cancer formed in New York City in 1913 in an attempt to raise awareness and fire the warning shots in war against cancer.  One hundred years later (and a name change to the American Cancer Society), the 5 year survival rate of someone hearing the words “you have cancer” is two in three.  Quite a difference!  A large part of that is thanks to the ACS.  People are better educated on how to prevent cancer and how to recognize the early signs so that you can get treatment before it gets out of control.  I have personally recommended their services to people I know and they have used the ACS 24-hour/365-day hotlines, rides to and from treatments, and other support programs.  As the number two funder of cancer research (behind the US government), the breakthroughs they have supported have helped millions extend their lives.  For my dad, Uncle Gene, Uncle Bob, Jack, Dutch, Gracye, Grandma Sweetheart and all of the programs the ACS supports, this is why I Relay.