Heather Billings / The Collegian
A woman pointed out a white paper bag, inscribed with a name and glowing with light sticks in the dusk, to her young daughter.
“That’s your daddy’s,â€Â the woman said. “He’s watching you from heaven.â€Â
Hundreds of the bags, called luminarias, were placed around a makeshift track on the football practice field Saturday evening in remembrance of those who have fought cancer. More than 80 cancer survivors and 57 teams attended the Fresno American Cancer Society̢۪s 2008 Relay For Life held from 7 a.m. Saturday to 9 a.m. Sunday.
Heather Billings / The Collegian
“It’s 24 hours because cancer never sleeps,â€Â said Relay For Life volunteer Angela Robertson. “We are here to celebrate cancer survivors, we are here to honor those who lost their family members to cancer and we are here to raise funds to help prevent the disease.â€Â
Lauren Jacquez, who is an Edison High School teacher and is in her second year as the relay̢۪s chair, had both a walking and a running team attending the event from her school.
“My story is early detection, and that’s key,â€Â Jacquez said. “I want my students to take a life lesson from my class, not only about geography, but about listening to your body and being preventative, even if it’s just brushing your teeth.â€Â
Students from Fresno State also had a presence. Fresno State teams included Kappa Sigma, Kappa Alpha Theta, Delta Zeta, Pi Kappa Alpha, the equestrian team̢۪s Rose Parade, sports psychology̢۪s Sports Psychos and Colleges Against Cancer.
“We all have family that’s been affected,â€Â said Pi Kappa Alpha’s Maurice Vallecillo, who lost his mother to cancer.
His fraternity brother Drew Vanzant nodded and said his grandmother had passed away from cancer, also.
Brittany Burns and Brittany Glynn from the sports psychology department̢۪s team said they were lucky not to have any personal relation to the disease.
“Our club does this to promote health and well-being,â€Â Glynn said.
Themed laps, for which teams are encouraged to dress their representative runner or walker a certain way, occur nearly every hour.
“Prom [lap] is at midnight. I can’t wait,â€Â Glynn said.
Burns was eager to carry on a winning tradition.
“I’ll dig out my old ‘80s prom dress,â€Â said Burns, a fourth-year participant in the relay. “We’ve won the lap-walking contest for the past few years.â€Â
Other events include the survivors’ and caregivers’ laps, drawings, performances by various local musical groups, the luminaria ceremony at dusk and hourly Hope Factor Challenges that range from team members picking items up with their toes, to forming a human “floatâ€Â representing the team’s message.
Though teams earn points for laps completed and challenges won, survivor chair Shannon Thomas said the real emphasis was on raising awareness about and money for cancer prevention. She urged students to participate even if they do not have personal experience with cancer.
“Cancer does not discriminate,â€Â she said. “After doing this for three years, if I were diagnosed, I would be a lot more courageous because I’ve seen the survivors and I would have a lot more hope.â€Â
Rebecca Morris of the team Living for Linda said that sometimes cancer is “completely out of the blue.â€Â Her mother, Linda, died in February of stage IV colon cancer.
“She didn’t smoke, she wasn’t overweight, she didn’t have any of the risk factors. Her grandbabies are here,â€Â Morris said, looking at a toddler balancing unsteadily against a tent pole. “We’re here living for her. She was a very, very strong woman.â€Â