Cancer is a terrible thing. It can strip you of everything -- your pride, your strength, and sometimes even your life. There are lots of different kinds of cancer, too. Four of the most common cancers are colon cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer and lung cancer. Each of these are very serious and require a lot of treatment, such as chemotherapy or radiation. While no cure has been found, doctors everywhere are hot on the trail doing what they can to spare people a lifetime of heartache. In order to do this, they need funds!

Well, this is when an annual activity called Relay for Life comes in. Relay for Life is a fundraiser for cancer research, and it is worldwide. It started by one man, a doctor, who was dedicating his time to finding a cure but was short on money for research.

In 1985, he decided to spend a full 24 hours on his local track, walking and running non-stop with people paying $25 to participate or watch. That day, he raised $27,000 dollars! The next year, he pulled together a small committee and got an official event to take place, raising $33,000 dollars.

His dream was that it would become an annual event with people everywhere participating to help raise even more money for cancer research, and today, his dream has come true! Around the globe, people sign up to walk around their local tracks. They can walk for 24 hours or they can walk for a few hours and then hand off their relay badge to someone else on their team.

Churches, individuals, businesses and organizations sponsor teams and set up booths at the event with raffles or money cans to raise extra funds on the side. In my town, Relay for Life took place recently and I was very proud to participate in it for the first time! I walked from 10 pm to midnight and then 5 am to 7 am.

A DJ provided music and you could request songs as you walked by. Bands played live on the stage, a comedian did a routine, and they showed a movie in the middle of the night on a large screen. A few of my friends stuck it out all night! Small white paper bags were decorated by each person there and a name of someone who lost their life to cancer or a cancer survivor was written on the front. A candle was placed in each bag, and they lit up the whole track.

Some of us don't realize how serious this is. People lose their life to cancer everyday, and will continue to do so until a cure is found. Walk in Relay for Life and support cancer research!

Dozing off for some rest,
*tfklover