A View from Bethel's Relay for Life - June 11-12, 2011

Bethel has been very good to my family and me, and I am always looking for ways to give something back to the community.  So when one of my former classmates (Bethel High School class of 1980 – The Class With Class!) asked me to join her team at this year’s American Cancer Society Relay For Life, I saw it as a good opportunity to serve.

If I had known at that moment that this would involve a sleepless night outdoors in bone-chilling cold, harassed by a near-constant rain, I might have given a different answer!  But had that been the case, I would have missed out on an extraordinary and rare opportunity.

I would venture to say that every family has been touched by cancer in some way, the only differentiating factor being the degrees of separation involved.  If you have been blessed not to have had the impact hit very close to home, there is almost certainly a friend, acquaintance or colleague in your life who has been touched - which makes cancer one of those diseases that we should all have an interest in eradicating.

Aside from a brief drop-in a few years ago to sign up as a participant in the ACS’s long-term Cancer Prevention Study (CPS-3), I had no experience with Relay and did not know what to expect.  There is, of course, the fundraising aspect.  I’m proud to say that our team, Peeps for Life, exceeded our goal (as did I personally) – and as of today the total Bethel event tally was in the neighborhood of $70K.

But the Relay event itself is about so much more.  It is a very moving day, evening and morning dedicated to cheering the survivors, honoring the caregivers, and remembering those who lost their battles.  Joann SanGiacomo’s riveting account of how her son Brian contracted an aggressive form of cancer just prior to entering high school served as a reminder to all that this disease can strike quickly and aggressively, at any time and without any warning.  Seeing a healthy Brian – now cancer free – onstage with his mom, dad and brothers also served to show that this disease can indeed be overcome with love and support.

If a high school freshman can courageously fight and win this battle, I can certainly spend one cold, wet, sleepness night to help provide that support!

Of course, Relay was also a great time to catch up with old friends.  The stories exchanged throughout the night were priceless, but perhaps not suitable material for this blog :-) I just hope that there is no video of that Zumba session …

Shout out to my teammates Meghan O’Connor, Maura Callahan, Pam Akazawa, Sharon Cool, MaryBeth Falls, Ann Gionet, Lisa Taylor and Diane Tomaino – the Peeps for Life!