Fight Cancer by Participating in Your Area's Relay for Life

Cancer is a deadly disease that affects countless people all over the world. It is the uncontrollable growth of blood cells, which produces tumors or other malignant growths inside or outside the body.

There are many important reasons to raise money for fighting cancer, but probably one of the most important is for research to cure the disease. If no one searches for a cure, more people will continue to get cancer and die. Possibly even you or someone close to you.

I recently took part in the, Relay for Life in Eugene Oregon which was just one of many held annually all over the world. The Relay for Life is a fundraiser established with the sole purpose of fighting cancer. It's not only a fundraiser. It's also a fun way to raise money for the cause along with your friends and family. The relay is normally held once a year towards the end of July, and lasts for 24 hours.

Relay for Life raises money to fight cancer in several ways:

1. People from the community are encouraged to make donations in any amount. Some raise funds all year long just to donate during the Relay For Life each year.

2. Participants get sponsors who agree to pay them so much per lap, or a pre-determined lump sum for taking part in the relay. Some people enter individually while others choose to walk in groups of two, three, or even four teams.

3. Some businesses set up tents, especially if they have a team entered in the relay, and sell coffee and other items with proceeds going to the cancer research fund.

Teams usually wear event t-shirts and carry nifty looking batons. Some of the teams walk the whole 24 hours. At least one person from each team is always walking or running on the track at any given time. The more laps walked, the more money raised.

People of all ages participate in the Relay for Life. From children to adults, everyone is encouraged to get involved; even people with cancer participate. Plenty of food and drinks are available to refresh the walkers as the hours go by, and free water is located along the edges of the track. Most of the walkers thought it was more fun to join a team or bring a friend to walk with.
Everyone had his or her own reason for participating in the relay. My personal reason was that I wanted to help fight a disease that has affected so many others. Speaking with fellow participants, I found that many wanted to help for the same reason I did, while others had been touched by cancer in some way and felt this was their way to "fight back." Some just thought it was a fun thing to do.

Whatever their reasons for participating in this year's Relay for Life, everyone seemed to agree that they were proud to be a part of helping to raise money for cancer research and expressed hope that someday soon, a cure will be found.

The Relay for life doesn't only happen in Eugene, OR, it happens almost everywhere so if you are interested in entering next year, look for one near you. Participating in the relay gave me a great feeling that by being there, I was helping people unable to help themselves. I am definitely looking forward to participating in the relay again next year.

*Another foundation for cancer research is the Pink Ribbon foundation which specializes in fighting breast cancer, a large killer of woman with cancer. The foundation is similar to Relay for Life, except that money raised by them goes specifically to breast cancer research. The Pink Ribbon foundation also funds free mammograms.