Using hearts and feet to fight cancer

Walkers will go around the clock in the battle against cancer when the 15th annual American Cancer Society Relay For Life of El Dorado County gets underway with teams of residents gathering at El Dorado County Fairgrounds on Sept. 8-9, 2012 at 10 a.m.

Relay For Life events are held overnight as individuals and teams camp out with the goal of keeping at least one team member on the track at all times throughout the evening. Teams do some of their fundraising prior to the event, and most teams also hold creative fundraisers at their camp sites during the relay. Raffles, silent auctions, wonderful food, contests, and more are all a part of the event. Relay brings together friends, families, businesses, hospitals, schools, faith-based groups … people from all walks of life — all aimed at furthering the American Cancer Society’s efforts to save lives by helping people stay well, by helping them get well, by finding cures and by fighting back.

Relay is a unique opportunity for the El Dorado County community to come together to celebrate people who have battled cancer, remember those lost, and fight back against the disease. Many of the participants are cancer survivors, which serves as a reminder that El Dorado County is not immune to this disease and that by participating in Relay, El Dorado County is joining with the American Cancer Society’s efforts to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

Funds raised at Relay For Life of El Dorado County are enabling the American Cancer Society to impact the lives of those touched by cancer within the community. The money raised at Relay enables the American Cancer Society to deliver on its mission of helping people stay well, helping people get well, finding cures and fighting back against the disease.

Relay For Life’s Luminaria Ceremony takes place after sundown, honoring the community’s cancer survivors and remembering those lost to the disease. Participants will circle a track that is surrounded with glowing luminaria that bear the name of someone who has battled cancer. Luminaria may be purchased for a $10 donation by calling 916-955-8615 or by visiting RelayForLife.org/eldoradocountyca.

Also a part of El Dorado County’s Relay For Life event is the “Fight Back” Ceremony, in which a community leader will inspire Relay participants with his or her own commitment and will challenge them to take a personal pledge of action (for example, stop smoking, eat more healthily, exercise regularly, etc.) in fighting back.

The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, it fights for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. It saves lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; by helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing about $3.4 billion, it turns what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.