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Home > Archive > Apr 10, 2008

A Tireless Walk Against Cancer
By Cami Cox
Staff Writer
Southern Utahns will lace up their walking shoes this spring to unite in the battle against cancer at the American Cancer Society's annual Relay for Life. This year's local Relay for Life events will take place April 18-19 in Cedar City, April 25-26 in St. George and May 9-10 in Hurricane.
“I really know that we're going to be able to find an end. We're going to be able to see in our lifetime a cure for cancer, but I don't know that that statement can be true unless we all unite together in these kind of events,” Dave Taylor, Iron County Relay for Life committee chair, said.
At Relay for Life, which is a 24-hour event, relay teams of up to 15 members walk or jog all night to help find a cure for cancer, remember cancer victims and honor cancer survivors. Prior to the events, team members raise money for the cause, and the funds raised are used to support cancer research and the American Cancer Society's efforts to wipe out cancer for good.
“There is such a unified spirit in fighting this rampant disease,” Taylor said. “Especially in Southern Utah, I don't think that there is a cause that can unite so many people in such a way, because every one of us have either personally, or through friends or family or some kind of acquaintance, been hit with the devastation that (cancer) can cause.”
St. George Relay for Life committee member Lisa Bundy knows firsthand the struggle and heartache of watching a loved-one battle cancer. Her daughter McKenzie, 6, was diagnosed with leukemia at age 4. It was in the year following McKenzie's diagnosis that both she and her mom got involved with Relay for Life, to take an active stand (and walk) against the disease that was trying to claim her life.
“That's the reason I got involved, because of her,” Lisa Bundy said. “This will be my second year, and I will do it for the rest of my life now.”
McKenzie participated in the “Survivor Walk” at last year's St. George Relay for Life, and she'll be doing that again this year. The survivor walk is a Relay tradition, in which cancer survivors and the loved-ones of those who didn't survive kick off the Relay by taking the first lap around the track.
Another Relay tradition is a ceremony that takes place in honor of the cancer patients. Shortly after dark, all the lights go down and small, illuminated bags (called luminaria) are lit in remembrance of cancer victims, survivors and those still battling the disease. Local residents are encouraged to support the Relay for Life by ordering luminaria in honor of cancer patients, according to information from the American Cancer Society, and they can also form Relay for Life teams of their own or donate to existing teams. Teams can be formed right up to the day of the event, Lisa Bundy said.
“If everybody pitched in a little bit and did something, like what I'm doing, or just helped out with the Relay, imagine what a whole community could do,” Hayden Wright, Hurricane Valley Relay for Life chairman, said.
Wright is a cancer survivor and the person heading up the very first Relay for Life to take place in Hurricane. In past years, Hurricane participants have attended the St. George Relay.
In addition to overseeing all the details of Hurricane's first annual Relay, Wright stands out as a Relay chairman because he happens to be only 12 years old. He was diagnosed with cancer as a toddler and has been supporting the Relay for Life, along with his parents, since age 3. This year, he stepped up to fill the big position of organizing an entire Relay event for Hurricane Valley.
“I'm only 12, and if I can do something like this, then imagine what somebody else could do,” Wright said.
During the Relay for Life, relay team members can stay all night at the 24-hour event or just put in their time on the track and go home. Many participants pitch tents at the Relay and settle in for the entire event. Each team must have at least one representative on the track at all times, Lisa Bundy said, and team members typically raise a minimum of $100 per person prior to the event.
Relay for Life is about much more than taking laps around a track for 24 hours, according to information from the American Cancer Society. The event takes place all day and all night to symbolize that cancer never rests, and, therefore, neither should efforts to find a cure.
“It's fighting cancer – cancer doesn't stop,” Lisa Bundy said.
The St. George Relay for Life will begin April 26 and will take place at the Dixie State College Hansen Stadium, 500 S. 700 East in St. George. To contribute to the St. George Relay or to form a team, visit www.stgeorgerfl.org or call Ruth Ann Adams at 435-674-1005.

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