Relay for LIfe

justme32213

Hellooooooooo ! Was wondering if anyone has ever participated in any of the Relay for Life in your own area? If so, what are they all about and how did you participate.....TY in advance. 

 

Lisa

desertgirl947

I am thinking about it.  Ours

I am thinking about it.  Ours is June 7.  I have to have to let the group know by the 24th.

My husband and I went for a few hours once for one of his co-workers.  I forget what kind of cancer he had.  His mother also has battled it.  What was so cool about that one time we went was that the weather had been showery, eventually clearing off.  Just before the lap the survivors do, there was a very clear double rainbow in the sky.  Wow!

Skeezie

Ours is May 18 and this is my third.  It is 24 hrs because cancer doesn't sleep.  I only stay til after the luminary ceremony walk and then go home.  It starts out with the Survivors Walk, we line up according to how long out of treatment (or if still in) first and then graduating back.  We up front are told to look in back and see how long everyone has survived and how far they come.  We then start walking around the track and everyone else is lined up and clapping and smiling and waving and cheering.  I can't tell you what a feeling of euphoria, joy and triumph I felt.  Then throughout the day our team had fundraising events at our "campsight" and we take turns walking the track.  Survivors receive free lunch.  Very special.  There are various speakers throughout the day but I helped at our campsite, talked, laughed, walked the tract.  Many laps are fun laps, like crazy hat etc.  After dark is the luminary ceremony.  We light our luminaries and there is a ceremony and then everyone (survivors and all) walks in silence around the track.  All lights are out except for the lumiaries.  I was not expecting so many!  It was hundreds.  Mine had my mothers name, my husands mother and his first wife, all died from cancer.  On the stage there is a big TV screen and all the names from the luminaries are posted and rolling.  This is so emotional.  What joy to see our loved ones names!  Ralph's mother died when he was 11 yr (breast), my mother died in 1984 (colon), his 1st wife (breast) died in 1970.  For those few minutes, in the dark, they were aive again and given recogition.  As I said you can hear people sobbing etc  But it's not all sad, I can't describe the joy you feel, so many there, "brothers and sisters" and other loved ones and dear friends and all there for the same reason.  You just feel the love and support.  All of the teams work very hard beforehand and at the event to raise as much $$$ as possible.  But if you dn't have a team as a survivor you can register, get your Survivor Shirt (free), get the lunch and walk and participate in all events.  Most teams will welcome anyone who introduces themselves and wants to walk for their team.  At nite, we have some team members that take the nite shift and stay the nite.  The closing cereonies are at 9:30 am in the morning.  I'm sure you could call the Relay for Life committee and tell them you would like to join a team and they will get you a team if you don't have one.  It's not only a wonderful fundraiser but it's a bonding experience like none other.  And fun, fun, fun. 

That's what ours is like in Port Huron, MI, I'd love to read what others are like, similar?  Different?

Hugs,

Judy :-)

 

SIROD

Where The Money Goes For Research

I have read this on a Met breast cancer site and the person who wrote was the former President of METAvivor.  This is is the only group who raise funds for research that only goes for stage IV cancer.  CJ can say far more eloquently than I can.  

 

Patricia Steeg PhD and Jonathan Sleeman PhD, both highly respected metastatic cancer researchers, wrote a report in 2010 showing that the ACS gave only 2.3% of its cancer research budget to all stage IV cancer research collectively. 2.3%!! It likely isn't doing more than that now. Yet 90% of all patients dying of cancer die of stage IV cancer and 100% of breast cancer patients dying of breast cancer die of "metastatic" breast cancer ... so if they truly want to save lives, why are they giving only 2.3% to find solutions for any stage IV cancer?

Relay for life has only two categories, one is for survivors and the other is the memorial walk.  I asked my own state "Relay for Life" to include a round for those of us living with stage IV.  They said, "NO".  In Maryland where METAvivor is located, they eventually put a billboard up welcoming those with stage IV.

I met a young man who had leukemia as a child and survived today.  He is a great promoter of Relay for Life.  I told him, I couldn't that not a thing has changed.  He looked at me with my turban and said, "I know".  Though I believe they do great work, they only like Komen catered to the survivors.  I would love to join the Relay but I need to know that more money is going toward the cancer that kills, stage IV which really does have very little funding.  I really would like to know why?

Doris