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Fight against cancer; join the Relay For Life
It’s been 17 months, and there’s still a hole in our Sylva Herald family. Not a week goes by that we don’t miss Jeff Rhyne, our comrade in newsprint, as we put out another edition of the paper.
Jeff died in January 2004, just six months after he had completed the Survivors Lap at the 2003 Relay For Life. It meant a lot to him.
Cancer research during the past few decades led to the breakthroughs that kept Jeff with us for years after his cancer was diagnosed; if his cancer had struck three years from now, additional experiments might have produced the treatment or cure that would have allowed Jeff to enjoy retirement.
Much of the money raised during this Friday’s Relay For Life will go directly into the research that can save the lives of cancer patients.
Research is not the only purpose of relay fund-raising, though it’s uppermost in our minds as we continue to mourn Jeff, and uppermost in the minds of volunteers like Margaret Hamilton, who lost a much-loved son to the disease.
Relay also earmarks funds for patient-service programs aimed at cancer prevention and education, and early detection of the killer disease – programs that can help more people beat cancer the way Jenni Woody, featured on page 1C this week, and Annette Kesgen, who will lead a team called “Survivor All-Stars” on Friday have done.
Nationally, 35 cents of every dollar raised by the American Cancer Society goes toward research, and 45 cents goes toward programs aimed at reducing the spread and occurrence of cancer.
The Relay itself celebrates the victories and honors those like former school board Chairman Martha Queen and former Sylva town board member Eldon Cabe, who cancer has taken from us.
The luminaries that will burn all night in tribute to those who have lost their personal battles in the war against cancer are another means of raising money for the cause. This year’s teams have come up with a myriad of other fund-generating schemes: Promise Land Baptist packed the church for a gospel singing, Piney Mountain Motors is raffling a car and one team charges its members to participate.
This year’s participants have a lofty goal to reach as they try to better last year’s $77,000, which represented a huge jump from 2003’s $47,000.
Cancer doesn’t discriminate. It steals from all professions, all age groups, all ethnic groups and all socioeconomic groups.
Most people in Jackson County probably have lost a friend or relative to cancer; everyone has a stake in the research that may one day eradicate it.
In memory of Drew Hamilton, Jeff, Martha, Eldon and all the others our county has lost through the years, support the Relay and the American Cancer Society.
They save lives.
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