The Innisfail Jr/Sr High School football field will be home for the fifth annual Canadian Cancer Society's Relay For Life fundraising walk next month.
“We will be hosting the fifth annual Relay for Life at the high school on June 20,” said Charlene Carver, committee chair for the Canadian Cancer Society. “Last year's event raised $42,275 with more than 150 people participating in the event. This year we hope to have more participants and to raise more funds.”
The Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life is a 12-hour, overnight, non-competitive event that involves teams of up to 15 participants who take turns walking or running around a track. Every year the event opens up with a survivors' victory lap with cancer survivors taking an inspirational first lap at dusk with candles lit to pay tribute to family members and loved ones.
“I am a cancer survivor in addition to being a walker and organizer,” said Carver. “This year I celebrate eight years clear of cervical cancer and will keep on walking.”
Where events like the Terry Fox Run and the Boob Tour support specific types of cancer, Relay For Life supports every type of cancer research into early detection technologies and testing, said Carver.
“Every step taken and every dollar raised is invested in cancer research to improve detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer,” added Carver. “All across Canada, as many as 500 communities come together to raise funds for cancer research, making it the largest single fundraiser the society hosts.”
Being a cancer survivor, Carver is passionate when it comes to the relay.
“Being diagnosed with cancer is no longer the death sentence it used to be,” she said. “Currently, 60 per cent of patients diagnosed with cancer survive and that is due in large part to events like this that develop early detection technologies. Cancer is a complicated condition and the sooner it is detected, the better a patient's survival odds.”
For more information on Relay For Life go to relayforlife.ca or call the Canadian Cancer Society at 403-347-3662.
