Carson City Relay for Life: 'We’re here to finish the fight against cancer'
Saturday afternoon, 17 teams gathered at Mills Park in Carson City with one goal on their minds: to help finish the fight against cancer. The Carson City Relay for Life brought the community together to raise money, awareness and to educate each other on the battle against cancer.
“Cancer is an evil and we can’t yield to it. We can’t give up. We have to keep fighting, through education, prevention and awareness, treatment and survivorship,” said Melissa Madera Carson City Relay for Life Event Co-chair.
Madera works for Women’s Health Connection, a breast and cervical cancer early detection program. She is a caregiver and watched her roommate fight his battle against cancer. She said the treatment was horrible, but her roommate is now three years in remission.
Relay for Life is put on by the American Cancer Society and is an organized, overnight community fundraising walk where teams of people camp out and walk around a track to raise money. Each member of each team takes a turn walking the track from noon to 12 a.m. The Carson City Relay for Life at Mills Park has a survivor tent with food and refreshments provided by the local Smith’s grocery store. According to the Relay for Life website the Carson City community has so far raised $15,848.14 as of Saturday afternoon to fight against cancer.
Some Relay for Life teams include the Carson City Sheriff's Office who surpassed their goal with 17 participants and more than $1,000. Walmart brought in 100 participants for their team and Smith's had a team of 6 and provided refresments at the event.
“I’ve always looked at the American Cancer Society, I wanted to support them because it is important to do that for our community and for our country, but it never really dawned on me what it really meant until all of a sudden I’m told I have cancer,” said Carson City Mayor Bob Crowell.
Mayor Bob Crowell, a prostate cancer survivor was the opening ceremony cancer survivor speaker. After he was diagnosed, 9 years ago with prostate cancer, Crowell said he felt hopeless; he said he felt that his life was over.
He felt this way until one day his wife told him that it was terribly selfish of him to be acting that way because there are others around here who want to be with him.
She told him that he has to have an attitude that keeps him alive and he needed to start thinking about how important it is that a person has the proper attitude to fight the disease. Crowell is now cancer free. After he was cleared of cancer he went out and ran the Prison Hill half marathon because that was the goal he set out for himself.
“Life is what it is and we have to take every day, fight and have a good attitude, enjoy life, enjoy the people we’re around and that’s what I really think keeps us healthy,” Crowell said.
Relay for Life is looking for a co-signer to help put on a survivor dinner at the Gold Dust West where the committee, survivors and friends and family can celebrate and honor survivors and enjoy food and celebrate another year of beating the disease.
Relay for Life teams and participants will be walking, educating and soaking up the sun all day while enjoying entertainment provided by Platinum DJs and refreshments provided by Smith’s. Music for the Opening Ceremony was by The Whiskey Heroes with the Luminary Ceremony featuring Carson City singer Molly Seals began at 9 p.m. Saturday night. Go here for photos of the Luminary Ceremony.
- Bob Crowell
- cancer
- Carson City
- Carson City Sheriff's Office
- $12
- 000
- Acting
- Afternoon
- American Cancer Society
- Awareness
- breast
- camp
- carson
- Carson City Community
- Carson City Mayor
- celebrate
- Ceremony
- City
- community
- Community,
- country
- day
- Dinner
- disease
- event
- Family
- Food
- Free
- friends
- gold
- Health
- Healthy
- help
- heroes
- life
- local
- Mayor
- Mills Park
- money
- Music
- News
- opening
- photos
- Prevention
- Prison Hill
- program
- Program:
- Proper
- prostate cancer
- relay for life
- saturday
- sheriff's office
- Singer
- sun
- Support
- survivors
- treatment
- walk
- website
- Education
- Entertainment
- fundraising
- Gold Dust West
- Walmart