The Real Heart of Relay.

In a darkened room….
With drapes drawn…….
Door shut……..
And lights off…….

Head in hands…….
One heavy heart asks….
How did this happen to me?
How could I have gotten this disease…
Can I be strong enough to SURVIVE?

Who will take care of my family?

Where is the light…..
OUT OF THIS DARKENED ROOM?











The question most frequently asked of American Cancer Society volunteers is “why do you do this event year after year?” Many of us look at the people asking this question and realize that they don’t “get it” and wonder if there is any way to explain how Relay changes people’s lives.


How do you explain the story of a newly diagnosed cancer patient who attends a Relay and meets another survivor who has the exact same disease and is still thriving in life?

How do you explain the story of a caregiver who has traveled down a path of compassion, love joy, sorrow, guilt, loss and depression and yet at Relay a caregiver can talk to the only other person who could possibly understand this difficult journey……..Another caregiver.

How do you explain the story of a friend or co-worker who has seen someone they know battle this deadly disease and has felt they could do so very little to help? Sure they may take the person treatments or bring them dinner but they feel it just isn’t enough. Yet at Relay a team can be formed, money raised and society educated with the tools to fight back against this disease that takes far too much.

What each and every person at Relay finds is hope…. You can feel it in the air at 3:00 AM when you walk onto a football field damp with dew. You can almost touch the energy no matter how tired the people are. That energy is hope.

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is held to remember those we have lost to cancer, to support all those who are battling the disease and to work toward the day that no one has to hear the words “you have cancer”……………

Relay For Life provides……….

A LIGHT OUT OF THE DARKENED ROOM


Cancer touches millions of people’s lives……. maybe even yours.

As a caregiver to my mother a non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor Relay means so much to me because it is my opportunity to realize I am not alone in my journey of being the primary support system of someone who has had their whole world turned upside down.

Will you join me in creating hope Relay For Life 2008?


Sincerely,
Mrs. A