Though no champagne bottle was broken anywhere in the Taylorton Room at the Days Inn, the Relay for Life officially launched in Estevan on April 9.
About 30 people made the opening walk from the Post Office to the Days Inn on a dreary Saturday to kick off the fundraising campaign, sponsored by Independent Pump.
May 14 is Relay Day at the mall, previously held on Fourth Street, and April 27 is Daffodil Day, where participants wear a daffodil pin and do something helpful for someone with cancer.
Ashley Fox, assistant events co-ordinator for the Canadian Cancer Society in Weyburn, told the crowd that Estevan's 2010 total raised was $142,504.94, part of $3.2 million raised in the province last year through the relay.
"I challenge you to join the fight against cancer," Fox said.
She listed the many ways one can get involved by volunteering, joining a team, registering for survivor's victory lap, or by purchasing a luminary.
Local cancer survivor Carol Cundall spoke about her experiences with cancer and how she is now able to help those who are going through the same things she did.
"The Canadian Cancer Society offers something that you don't get anywhere else," she said. "As a survivor, it gives us hope. All too often that's all we have to go on."
The Relay for Life supports so many worthwhile things for those with cancer, not just research, she said. Peer support, funded by the Cancer Society, gives cancer patients an opportunity to be paired with a cancer survivor.
"Sometimes that's what you want. You want to talk to someone who's been there. All too often people will say, 'you'll be just fine', or 'It's OK,' or 'Just live for the moment.' But what you want, is what to hear from someone who's been through it."
This year Cundall volunteered for the peer support program, so she could talk to people with cancer. She has six matches across the country. She talks with them on a regular basis.
"I have one woman who I phone weekly, and if I miss a day, she's panicked. She judges her success by my success."
She said a huge breakthrough in the peer support relationship is when you stop talking about cancer. She said with one woman she was paired with, they had stopped talking about cancer.
"We had already talked about funerals and obituaries, and who was going to sing for us."
The beauty of peer support, she said, is they can end the official (relationship) and just be friends, once they get past just talking about cancer.
"The Relay for Life helps us to celebrate all the good things that have happened. In my cancer journey, I have had so much to celebrate. Family, friends, people have rallied around me."
She asked those in attendance to remember those who didn't survive their battle with cancer.
"The ones we sat with. The ones we shared with. We will remember them. They will live on through this journey. The big thing is we are going to fight back, and sometimes that's what we need. We need to fight back against this dreaded disease."
She said she was appreciative of those who attended to help celebrate, remember and fight back.
She asked for all cancer survivors to join the survivor team for this year's relay.
For those who would like to volunteer for the Relay for Life this year, contact Melissa Robinson at 634-1009, and those looking to sponsor the event can call Karla Gabusch at 634-2007.
