Rainy River Relay for Life set for June 22, 2012

By Georgia Kreger,
Co-chair, RR Relay for Life

Why Do I Relay?
For my children. It’s a very simple answer. I want my children to have a future where there is a cure for cancer.
Growing up, I heard about cancer, but it didn’t affect me. There was no history of cancer in my mother’s or my father’s family. I didn’t know anyone personally who had cancer, if I did I was ignorant to it. Cancer was not a dinnertime subject of conversation.
My sister-in-law’s mother had cancer, but I wasn’t there to see how it affected her, so even then, it was just some awful disease that I didn’t know much about. It wasn’t until I met my husband that I saw first hand how cancer affects families, friends, acquaintances, strangers. He had already lost grandparents, aunts and uncles to cancer. His grandmother was undergoing treatment for breast cancer, and within two years of meeting her, it had spread to her lungs and we lost her. It was devastating.
In years since, we have seen friends battle this disease with their children, all winning the fight, thankfully. But then we read about other children who didn’t make it. Total strangers. Still devastating.
We have seen friends, family, acquaintances, colleagues, strangers, battling cancer too young, some winning, some losing the fight. Someone’s grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, cousin, best friend. There is no escaping the fact that there is a risk that one in four of us will end up getting some kind of cancer over a lifetime.
Relay for Life is an event that brings all of us together, family, friends, acquaintances, colleagues, strangers, to celebrate lives saved, remember those who have lost the battle, and fight back (through fundraising) to find a cure through research and to support those who have cancer.
If you are interested in participating in The Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life in Rainy River, please contact Missy Jenson 807-852-4576 or Georgia Kreger 807-488-5778 for more information. This year’s Relay will take place Friday, June 22, at the Riverview School track and our theme this year is “Relay Around the World,” with each team choosing a unique country to represent. We already have teams registered representing, Egypt, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Canada, of course. Visit the website HYPERLINK “http://www.cancer.ca” www.cancer.ca for general information, more inspirational stories, where your money goes, and to join the biggest Cancer event to make the biggest difference.