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Relay For Life Embraces Central Park

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On May 21-23 parking will be at a premium at Central Park, because Relay is taking over.

The American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life is held to allow communities across the country to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease.

The Santa Clarita Relay is one of the American Cancer Society’s biggest fundraisers in Southern California and involves teams camping out and walking around the track at Central Park for 24 hours.  A member from each team is asked to be on the track at all times during the event as a sign that cancer never sleeps.

The relay was started by Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon in Tacoma, Washington, who ran and walked around a track for 24 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

The relays have been taking place sing 1985 and involve more than 3.5 million people in 5,000 communities.

The relay is open to anyone willing to participate, but requires a registration/commitment fee (per team or per person) that is due upon registration.

 

Two captains have special reasons for participating

Pat News is an OB/Gyn nurse practitioner, and has seen her share of cancer. For her, the worst thing in the world is calling a patient to deliver a grim diagnosis.

She is a staunch supporter of SCV’s Relay for Life for many reasons, but one cuts very close to home.

“I lost a dear friend in 1994 to breast cancer and became filled with rage at this dreaded disease,” she says. “I walk so I never have to do hospice care again, so I never have to make a phone call to a patient to them they have cancer, so I never again have to stand by and watch as a loved one or patient deals with the treatment and impact cancer has on their lives.”

News, 55, has been involved in Relay for Life since it first came to the Santa Clarita Valley.

Her team, “Team Caring for You,” is one of the top fund-raising teams in Santa Clarita.

While other teams split shifts to be present at the 24-hour relay, most of her 30 team members typically stay throughout the event.

News says she gets much more than she gives during Relay.

“I love watching the survivors walk and I smile at the support and love they receive from the crowd. Throughout the day it is touching to think about our community coming together for such a worthy cause,” said News.

News and her team are anxiously awaiting this year’s event, May 21-23 at Central Park in Saugus.

After dark, News says, is when the magnitude of the event really becomes evident. “When we get together to reflect upon and mourn those who have lost their battles with such grace and dignity, I pray their struggles remind me every day of the things in life that are truly important. It helps me realize that this is not a dress rehearsal.”

 

Wendy Thy

If you look around your life, chances are you have been touched by cancer. Maybe you haven’t received that dreaded diagnosis — but chances are better than good you know someone who has.

For Wendy Thy, numerous encounters with this disease have prompted her to get involved in finding a cure.

“I was inspired to participate in Relay for Life by a dear friend. She believed in finding the cure and I now walk kin her memory. I also walk in memory of my Uncle Danny.”

Thy is captain of the “United Ribbons of Hope” team, which boasts some 30 to 40 team members.

This will be Thy’s seventh year as a member of Santa Clarita Valley Relay for Life. “Relay is an amazing and emotional event,” Thy says. “To see all of the survivors walk is so inspiring and gives hope to all who attend and participate.”

The 39-year-old claims support supervisor says her goal for this year’s event is to continue to bring awareness to the Santa Clarita Valley, “and to raise funds to find a cure for cancer,” she says. “Being involved in Relay for Life in Santa Clarita is important to me and my family, and we are honored to help the American Cancer Society raise funds and awareness for the cure for cancer.”

For more information about the SCV Relay for Life, visit www.scvrelay.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Relay For Life Embraces Central Park

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