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Friday's Internet Edition, November 21, 2008.
Relay for Life in Galt raises more than $60,000 in search for a cure
Teams take to GHS track to fight cancer
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Kathi Burris and Kim Mackey of Doggone Walkers show off their sign honoring Kim’s mother who passed from bone and liver cancer.
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By Rachael Ackerman
Herald Editor
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The purple shirts shone bright in the sun, the tears flowed at times, and the teams walked, all as part of Relay for Life 2008, held in Galt on Saturday.
An international program, created for a community chance to fight cancer and fund research for a cure, Relay for Life has a rich history in Galt over the past eight years, including contributions to the American Cancer Society in excess of $250,000 over the years.
Not to be outdone, Relay for Life teams for 2008 added more than $60,000 to that total just this year, representing the families, survivors and victims of cancer that the community of Galt calls family.
“The best thing is the participation and the way the community has come in with support,” said Relay organizer veteran Tammi Balukoff. “We even raised more money than last year in spite of the economy. We have so many heroes in this town lending us a hand.”
From opening ceremonies where all cancer survivors are honored with a special flower presentation and the honor of taking the first lap, to the final lap where relay teams are found arm-in-arm, all are brought even closer together by the 24-hour focus on a cure.
Lonnie Pierce, who walked for the Everyday Heroes, is, at the young age of 34, a hero herself.
“I had thyroid cancer in 2001 and cervical cancer in 2006, and then I had a big scare for breast cancer six months ago,” said Pierce. “That turned out to be negative, so I am here fighting for a cure for everyone who is still fighting cancer in their lives.”
From young to old, cancer does not discriminate, and some of the most moving moments of a Relay weekend come when cancer’s littlest victims take to the track.
“This is the first time we have been out in weeks, but it is important to support this cause,” said Laura Bromley, whose 11-year-old daughter Madison is currently in treatment for leukemia. “Lives depend on it.”
For Madison, who took her turn taking laps on the GHS track, the day was about feeling special, being connected to others who are fighting cancer, and feeling the hope of so many who support the American Cancer Society. Oh, and the fun stuff along the track wasn’t bad either.
“Getting a foot massage was the funniest thing I did today,” said Madison.
Not everyone who walks in Relay has had cancer, or has a family member with cancer but, for most, cancer has touched their lives in a very personal way.
“My best friend of 20 years was just fine, more active and alive than the rest of our college gang,” said Galt resident Marrianne Winstad, “and then she was gone. Cervical cancer. First it took her physical strength, and then it took her very life but, you know, it never ever took her smile. We walk for her – for her smile.”
For others, Relay is a first step into discovering how easy, and even fun, giving to the world community at large can be for every member of the family.
“We’re here for the first time,” said Kathi Buris who took laps for the Doggone Walkers. “We’re here in support and trying to raise money for a good cause.”
In the end, there is no end. The fight goes on. The strength in surviving continues to inspire, and the loved ones keep to the tracks, fields and city streets around the world spreading the Relay promise that, if we all join together, we will win in the battle against cancer.
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