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Relay events bring hope to fight against cancer

Hours and hours of walking, along with fun, fellowship and fundraising, begin this weekend, as it’s Relay for Life time in the Ohio Valley.

The Brooke-Hancock American Cancer Society Relay for Life, now in its 17th year, will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Follansbee Middle School football field.

The relay will include a mix of live music, games for all ages and other activities for participants to enjoy when it’s not their turn to walk around the track. It will conclude at midnight, a change that was made recently to encourage more involvement in the later hours.

Last year more than $87,000 was raised in Brooke County for the American Cancer Society.

This weekend also will see the 11th-annual Relay for Life of Buckeye event to be held at World War II Memorial Stadium. This year’s goal is $41,250, and the theme is “Paint the Town for a Cure” with various colors on display to signify different types of cancer.

Events start at noon with a flag-raising ceremony featuring Dillonvale American Legion Post 366 with disc jockey Doc Roe playing the national anthem. A team parade will follow while the crowd will participate in a series of games and activities throughout the day. Games start at 1 p.m. The schedule includes the Survivors’ Dinner at 5 p.m., followed by the Survivors’ Lap at 6 p.m. Other activities include the luminaria ceremony beginning around 9 p.m. The closing ceremony will start at 11:30 p.m.

And the season locally will wrap up on June 20 at Jim Wood Park in Steubenville, as the Jefferson County Unit of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life gets under way. More information on this Relay for Life will be forthcoming.

The ultimate goal of all relays is the fight against cancer, and that’s especially important in our area, which continues to have some of the highest rates of cancer in the nation.

The relays are culmination of the efforts of literally hundreds and hundreds of volunteers who give of themselves to help family members, friends and even people they’ve never met. Teams camp out and walk for hours, raising funds for every mile walked. The relays offer informal, fun and emotional activities, to be sure.

Our area relays also feature survivors taking the opening lap, bringing hope to those suffering with cancer, and those who lost their fight to the disease are memorialized.

Through the work of the Relay for Life programs, money is raised to help provide services for cancer patients and their families.

The relays also serve as a reminder that we must continue to do all we can to promote healthy living, early prevention and support the medical advances and researchers who are, as the cancer society motto goes, trying to create a world with more birthdays.

The ACS says the 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.”

We must also thank the thousands of area pupils and students, teachers and school administrators who have held relay events through the school year, all with the goal of raising funds for cancer research. Without the schools’ assistance, funding goals could not be reached.

The Relay for Life is a beacon of hope for so many in the Tri-State Area. So remember, even a small contribution allows hope to continue in the fight against cancer.

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