On a night when many involved were celebrating their own personal milestones, the Estevan Relay for Life marked a milestone of its own.
It was announced in the opening ceremonies that the Estevan relay had raised over $967,000 since it began seven years earlier. Thanks to a $60,150 haul at the 2013 Relay, the local event went over the $1 million mark all-time, an incredible accomplishment that speaks volumes about the people that have been involved with Relay over the years.
Patrick Fisher, the chairman for the 2013 Relay, said they were thrilled to push the total over $1 million with this year's effort.
"Doing $1 million in eight years is really an incredible feat and shows the support that Estevan gives to the Canadian Cancer Society and the Relay for Life," he said.
Entering the 2013 event, the organizing committee had a fundraising goal of just over $100,000. Although they fell short of that total, Fisher said they were still thrilled to see such an impressive total.
"The real impressive thing here is with 10 teams and 81 participants, that number averages out to be $711 per participant. Plus, Sacred Heart did a fantastic job fundraising for their mini relay and contributed about $12,500 of the total. Even comparing it to Moose Jaw, they had 17 teams and I don't think they even hit $50,000.
"All the teams that we get do a fantastic job of fundraising and really show some initiative to get some big numbers."
The 2013 edition of Relay kicked off with the opening ceremonies Saturday evening in the Civic Auditorium. Among the speakers were cancer survivors' Carol Cundall and Mary Antonenko.
Both women shared emotional words about their experiences in battling cancer and the importance of events such as Relay in their lives.
"I would like to thank each and every one of our survivors," Cundall said. "Relay for Life celebrates, and I do mean celebrates, all of the survivor's success in their individual battles against cancer. It gives hope to our families when they have had a family member diagnosed with cancer.
"Relay for Life gives us an opportunity to fight back. As a survivor, sometimes that is the one thing we have; we fight. This is our opportunity to make a difference, to take action."
Cundall said although much of the focus around Relay is raising much-needed funds to battle the disease, it also encourages people to talk about cancer and heightens awareness in the general public.
"It's about more than the fundraising. It's about encouraging people to ensure early diagnosis, encouraging healthy lifestyles and by doing this we will save lives."
Antonenko, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 ovarian cancer, was initially given a very grim prognosis but has been waging a successful fight for a couple of years. She credits having a positive attitude as one of the keys to her winning the fight.
"I maintained a positive outlook throughout my surgeries and treatments," she said. "Most days were pretty good but there were a few that weren't so great. I truly believe that all the medicine in the world cannot work to its fullest potential, if, as a patient, you are not doing your absolute best to keep a positive outlook.
"I have been asked several times how did I stay positive and not just let it get me down? I made that choice to remain as positive as I could because I wanted to get better as quick as possible. Without question it is a choice."
Antonenko added she wanted to be an example to those who are going through their own battles with cancer, noting that if people see how she was able to win her fight, others will realize they can win their own battles too.
"Remember that it is a choice. We can make it positive or not."
Following the opening ceremony, the event officially began with the Survivor's Walk, which remains one of the most powerful aspects of the evening.
"It's definitely the most emotional part of the night. Taking the time to talk to them and hearing some of their stories, they are always so glad to come out and talk about what they did and just show that there is definitely hope, it's not a death sentence anymore."
Fisher said on the whole this year's event went very well. The organizing committee had made plans for an outdoor track behind the Aud for those interested in walking outside, but the heavy rains that hit Estevan Saturday scrubbed that plan.
"We wanted to try and accommodate people who did want to go outside. It just seems to always rain the second weekend of June."
