What Is Relay for Life?
Many of us will attend weddings or graduations during the months of May and June, but there is another event that occurs in the early spring in many hometowns: Relay for Life. If you or someone in your family has cancer then you probably already know what Relay for Life is, but read on.
What is Relay for Life?
You can read about it and what it does on the American Cancer Associations page. If you have never attended one I encourage you to do so. It brings whole communities together in a way that is touching and inspiring. It’s impossible not to be moved by the speeches, memorials and survivors walk.
Just about everyone I know has someone in their family who has been touched by cancer. As I write this my cousin Martha is at M.D. Anderson getting scanned to see if her latest treatment plan for her breast cancer is working. You can read about Martha’s journey here. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/marthatodd
Martha has been involved in her communities Relay for Life in Milton, Florida for many years. She does it not only because she has cancer, but because she wants to help raise funds for research for the benefit of future generations.
The Many Colors of Cancer
Martha has breast cancer and the color most often associated with breast cancer is pink. NanaHood is pink in her honor and will stay pink until there is a cure, but there are many other colors and kinds of cancer.
In 1990 at the age of 51 my mother lost her battle with colon cancer. My husband’s father died of lymphoma the same year as my mother. My husband’s brother died of lung cancer just a few years ago. Cancer is color blind and all cancer has the potential to destroy the lives of people we love.
Just as there are different kinds of cancer there are different organizations who are determined to help in the fight. One of those organizations is Stand Up 2 Cancer. This morning I read a wonderful article on their site called, “You Are Not Your Cancer.”
The article was written by Paul Brenner M.D. and it says in part,
“I have been living with cancer for fifteen years. Early on, I observed how many of my thoughts were either unhealthy or focused on the future or past. One day, I realized my mind could not hold two thoughts simultaneously, that the negative anxieties were outweighing the positive awareness of everything that was so wonderful in the world around me. I found that it helped me to devise skills to control thoughts, and to help me realize that I am not my cancer.
Along the way, I have learned from my patient-teachers about the healing power of love. They have taught me to accept life with all its beauty and with all its thorns. They have instilled in me that fear is the enemy of love. And perhaps most importantly, love is the absence of fear. We cannot allow anything to diminish who we are, physically or emotionally: not cancer, nor life’s experiences.”
Not only was this article inspirational, also on the same site I saw a video made by middle school students and their teachers. They wanted to do something to help in the fight and so they created “Dancing With The Teachers” modeled after Dancing With The Stars. They did a fantastic job of raising money for the Stand Up 2 Cancer organization.
Stand Up 2 Cancer is an awesome organization and I encourage you to learn more about it by visiting their website here.
Can We Do More?
Friends, when it comes to cancer and helping those who fight it on a daily basis let’s all ask ourselves how we can do more. Can we give more? Can we love more? Can we pray more?
I know I can.
Remember what Helen Keller said….
I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.
Whether it’s through Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society, Stand Up 2 Cancer, or another organization. Let’s all do more!
