Relay For Life

When I was in high school, my granddad got lung cancer. He underwent major surgery that took him almost a year to recover from. The diagnosis – it was already too late. The cancer had spread to the rest of his body and he had developed a tumor in his brain, which was what eventually killed him. He underwent months of hospice care at his home. We had never been close, and I only visited once, toward the end. By that time he was so out of it that I got freaked out and wasn’t able to force myself to go near the huge hospital bed that had overtaken his bedroom, which I had never been in before. I still feel guilty.

A few years later, my aunt Kathe started having seizures. She was soon after diagnosed with brain cancer. My mom and her sisters drove over the mountains to Eastern Washington to visit her several times. I was busy with college and was never able to make a trip work out. I didn’t realize that in less than a year she would be gone. One weekend that summer my mom had promised to come up to Bellingham to help me move, instead of taking another trip to Eastern Washington to visit her sister. My aunt Kathe died that weekend. I wasn’t able to fly back from Hawaii for her funeral. I still feel guilty.

More than 1.3 million new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in the United States this year. These are staggering statistics, but there is hope. Each of us can do something to save lives and help those already fighting the disease. In an attempt to alleviate the guilt that still sometimes consumes me, this year I have formed a Relay For Life team.

Relay For Life is 24-hour event that brings communities together to help support the American Cancer Society and its lifesaving mission to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. The Society works hard every day to prevent cancer and save lives by supporting groundbreaking research, affecting public policies that protect us from cancer, and educating people on how to prevent or detect cancer early.

I’m sure many of you have already received emails from me about Relay For Life, but I had to include the info here too. I want to invite everyone to join me in this fight against cancer by either becoming a relay participant or making a donation.

Click here to be connected to the main page, where you can make an easy online donation. You can either search for me by name or search for my team: Swift Walkers For A Swift Cure. I really appreciate your support, and you will make a real difference in the lives of people facing cancer and in the lives of the people who love them.

Thank you!