Nearly all of us have been impacted in some way by cancer. Either we have lost someone, have cheered on friends and family who have survived, or we’re survivors ourselves.
I’m no different. I’ve lost two close friends to breast cancer – women who were moms of young children.
Both my parents this spring were diagnosed with melanoma. But fortunately, both were treated early enough that their doctors are optimistic about their outcomes.
And last year, I had a scare myself after a mammography found an unusual bump. Fortunately that’s all it was – a scare.
We live in a world that for the most part is a fairly predictable place. The buses run on time, the Mariners and the Sounders play without interruption, the rain keeps coming down in a typical Seattle spring. Even with the recession, we have government programs in place that enable us to survive and retain some normalcy in our lives.
That is why cancer is such a monster. In our world of technology and answers, it continues to throw a wrench into all that we hold dear: our families, our friends and ourselves.
It is the consummate unseen enemy.
But we don’t have to relinquish our happiness and our spirit for this thing that works to destroy our health and our lives.
This month, each one of us can do something about this devastating disease.
The Kent Relay for Life is exactly what it says it is: A relay to take back our lives from the uncertainties of cancer, to walk among survivors who have not given up the fight, and never will.
This year’s Relay for Life runs May 29-30 at French Field in Kent. It is an event that organizers are encouraging anybody to take part in, even if they are not a fundraising relay team.
The most important thing is just to get out there and walk in solidarity with others in a statement against cancer, to acknowledge the spark of humanity that gives our lives meaning, even in the face of this meaningless disease.
Kent’s Relay for Life is one of the biggest – if not THE biggest, such relay in King County. Each year between 5,000 and 10,000 people turn French Field into a small town of hope and survival.
You can be a part of this, too.
The event starts 6 p.m. May 29 and ends at noon May 30, with people walking laps around the track, as well as connecting with each other.
And there are other fundraising functions this month, too. Today, Saturday, there’s the Cruzin’ for a Cause Car Show, with a live band and food, at Prudential NW Realty, 25230 104th Ave. S.E. A fundraising garage sale, complete with baked goods, also will be going on at the site.
To learn more about this years’ relay here in Kent, go to http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=15243.
Or go to the American Cancer Society’s main page at www.cancer.org.
You can do everything from donating to the cause, to signing up for the relay. You can help to save a life.
Laura Pierce is editor of the Kent Reporter. Reach her at lpierce@kentreporter.com
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