BY KIRK STARRATT

kstarratt@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

Cancer is a disease that has touched most people in one form or another. The recent Relay for Life at Acadia University in Wolfville was an opportunity for the local student population to “Celebrate, Remember and Fight Back”.

Canadian Cancer Society district coordinator Amanda Bent said they had about 55 teams, over 520 people in total, gather sponsorships and participate in the event. The majority were students from Acadia, but there was strong representation from Horton High and Wolfville School as well.

Community Relay for Life events are coming up in June, including one in Kentville June 13. This year’s theme is “Celebrate, Remember and Fight Back”.

Bent said the Wolfville event raised a total of $75,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society. Of that, $58,000 was raised online. This was the fifth year for the event at Acadia. In the four previous years, a total of $193,000 had been raised.

“Acadia students are currently the top online fundraising university in Canada as of April 1st with $58,000,” Bent said following the event. “Using online is safe, easy and helps reduce administration costs for the society.”

The money goes toward the society’s mission: to eradicate cancer and improve quality of life for those living with cancer.

Personal reasons

Bent said she has personal reasons for being involved in the initiative. Cancer has touched a number of people in her life.

She lost her grandfather when she was 13. She was there when a number of friends and her grandmother heard their cancer diagnosis. She was there when her grandmother passed away.

“I participate to fight back in their memory,” Bent said. Her hope is to see a day when more people are living without, and surviving, cancer.

The relay, which ran from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Saturday, March 29 and Sunday, March 30, kicked off Saturday evening with a “Victory Lap” that included 33 cancer survivors.

There was a “Luminary Ceremony” in honour of those who have lost their lives to cancer, those living with cancer, survivors and people providing care to those stricken with the disease. Candles were placed inside treated bags and lit. On the eastern side of the arena, candles were arranged to spell out “HOPE”.

Youth participation ‘fantastic’

Madeline O’Brien, originally from Gaspereau Mountain and now residing in Kentville, said it would be four years on July 14 since she underwent surgery for breast cancer that spread into one of her lymph nodes. She said she still has to go in for a check-up every six months.

O’Brien has been in attendance for the event, including the Luminary Ceremony, for the past three years. Her granddaughters participate and they asked her to come. When asked what she thinks of all the young people working so hard to make a difference in the lives of those touched by cancer, O’Brien said, “it’s fantastic.”

O’Brien lost her husband to cancer 15 years ago and she lived through a period when she lost three close family members - two brothers and a sister-in-law - to cancer within 15 months.

Amy LeBlanc of Moncton, a member of a team of graduating Acadia students dressed in yellow calling themselves “e-lemon-ate cancer”, said her mother was diagnosed with cancer last year. She said it’s important for her to participate in the relay to help give hope to those living with cancer and to raise funds to help find a cure.

“It’s nice to have other people who have gone through the same thing,” she said about the feeling of camaraderie surrounding the relay. “It’s a very well run event.”

When asked if she was concerned about making it all the way through the night until 7 a.m. Sunday morning, LeBlanc said they had their tent full of lemonade, coffee and other provisions. “I think we’ll be okay.”

Bent said a new initiative of Relay for Life was tried for the first time in the Valley at the event; the “Fight Back Ceremony”. This involved people making pledges in regard to how they’ll reach out to help save others from cancer, such as encouraging yearly screenings or educating people on the dangers of smoking or using tanning beds.

Bent expressed her gratitude to Acadia students Laura Sherman and Ashley Miller for helping to recruit volunteers and for bringing a lot of students on board.

There were interactive activities for participants, including water polo, dance, dodge ball, limbo, an aerobic workout, live bands and more.