Celebrate, remember and fight back. Those are the three goals for the Relay for Life, as it raises money and awareness for cancer in its fifth year in Yorkton. The event takes place on June 19 at 7:00 p.m., running through the night to June 20 at Century Field.
Janet Sharpe with the Canadian Cancer Society Yorkton Parkland Unit explains that the three goals of the event define what happens through the evening. It begins with celebration, as cancer survivors take a victory walk around Century Field to kick off the event.
“It’s always very encouraging for people who have just been diagnosed with cancer or people who have someone in their family who has been diagnosed. We have one survivor who is a 45 year survivor of cancer, and we have others who are in the 10s, the 20s and the 30s.”
Later in the evening at 10:00 p.m. the luminary ceremony takes place, which remembers those lost to cancer or currently struggling with the disease, with candles surrounding the track bought in their memory lit over the night to remind relay participants of why they’re there.
The fight back is the third component, explains Sharpe, and that covers different ways to fight back. That means raising money, a big part of the relay each year, but it also means teaching people how to make healthier lifestyle changes to prevent cancer, as well as working to shed light on things that increase risk substantially, such as flavored tobacco products or teenage tanning. At 11:30 p.m. the fight back ceremony will take place, with activities to show how people can improve their chances of living a cancer-free life.
“It’s all about ways we can help prevent cancer.”
It goes through the night because it’s a way to show in 12 hours what a cancer patient’s journey is through their diagnosis. Sharpe explains that it starts bright, gets dark and difficult in the middle of the night before finally reaching the light of dawn, which represents remission.
“It’s just very symbolic about what a cancer patient goes through.”
The Relay for Life has done well in Yorkton over the past five years, and Sharpe says that it’s an event that encompasses the entire region with a large rural base that comes out every year. It’s an event that is about engaging the community, and Sharpe says that they encourage anyone who is curious about the event to come out and see what is happening.
“Lots of times after people come out, that’s when they decide that they would like to be involved next year.”
This year there will also be a wrist band program, so people who want to take part in a portion of the evening can pay $5 to take part in activities. Wrist bands will be given to all participants and volunteers, and Sharpe explains that this is a way to keep as much money as possible going to the causes for which Relay for Life raises money.
Examples of where the donations go naturally includes cancer research, but also includes financial assistance for patients who need it for travel and accommodations, in order to make it possible to access treatment, explains Sharpe. There is also a peer support program, to help people who are newly diagnosed. Educational programs are also a big part of the Canadian Cancer Society, right now a big emphasis being on sun protection for teenagers, emphasizing things like a tan-free grad in order to reduce the risk of skin cancer.
“We often hear people say we haven’t discovered a cure yet, but there’s over 200 different types of cancer, they probably all will require a different cure... But we’ve made great advances in treatment, sometimes people don’t even lose their hair anymore, and childhood cancer especially used to be a death sentence, but now kids are growing up and living a lot longer. Every cancer the survival rate has improved and the quality of life after survival has improved too, and that’s where we see lots of success in research.”
To get involved call 306-782-2788, email [email protected] or visit www.relayforlife.ca/sk. Sharpe says they really want to see as many survivors as possible at the event, and more volunteers are always welcome.
