One in three people will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society. In order to help find a cure, an American Cancer Society Relay For Life is being planned by ETSU students April 13-14 from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. in the Mini-Dome.
“Relay For Life represents the hope that those lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those who face cancer will be supported, and that one day cancer will be eliminated,” according to www.cancer.org.
This is the fifth or sixth year ETSU has held the relay, and while ETSU has raised up to $36,000 in the past, this year’s goal is to raise $45,000. Nationwide, Relay For Life has raised over $1 billion in total contributions since it first began in 1985, and according to www.relayforlife.org, more than 3.5 million Americans have participated.
At ETSU, the night will begin with an opening ceremony in which cancer survivors take a victory lap around the track.
“It’ll make you cry just watching them walk,” said Meagan Landry, a sophomore education major and PR chair for the event. “We had a cancer survivor who walked all 12 hours last year and we think he’ll do it again this year.”
Also during the night, there will be a luminaria ceremony, or “Ceremony of Hope,” in which paper sacks containing sand and a lighted candle will be placed along the track. The luminaries recognize cancer survivors, honor those who currently have cancer or remember someone who has died.
Landry said the relay honors cancer survivors because, “It shows them that we don’t know exactly what they’re going through, but we see what they’re going through and we support them and we’re praying for them and showing them love.” She said the relay is held at night because “cancer never sleeps.”
Currently, teams are being formed to participate in the relay. Each team is made up of 15 members, who take turns walking the track during the night. So far, ETSU has about 30 teams signed up, but the goal is 50. Participants can sign up for the relay until April 12. The cost is $10 which pays for registration and a T-shirt.
While Landry said her team, Alpha Phi Omega, is planning a car wash to raise money for the relay, other teams, such as the Honor Society, are planning a benefit concert.
Before the event, volunteers are needed to help pass out flyers and set up luminaria. Volunteers are also needed to help set up and tear down before and after the event. “We could use so much help,” Landry said.
Landry got involved with the event after watching her father battle with cancer. “My father had cancer when I was 12, so that kind of fueled my passion toward finding a cure.”
If interested in forming a team, Relay For Life meetings are held every Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Meeting Room 3 of the Culp Center. For more information about RFL contact Meagan Landry at zmll24@imail.etsu.edu or visit www.cancer.org.

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