PHOTOS BY MEGAN KANE
[quote style=”2″]Hundreds Turn Out for Hermiston Relay for Life[/quote]
Cancer survivors, their caregivers and hundreds of community members joined forces Friday and Saturday in Hermiston to fight back against the disease that kills nearly 1,600 people every day.
“Thank you for your dedication throughout the year and thank you for the cause you are working for,” said Charlie Clupny during Friday’s opening ceremonies of the 2014 Hermiston Relay for Life at Armand Larive Middle School. Clupny and others shared stories of how cancer has impacted their lives and encouraged everyone to keep up the fight.
Clupny lost his mother-in-law to ovarian cancer 23 years ago, and his father died of lung cancer 22 years ago. Grand Marshals Lisa Nino and Angela Mercado lit the ceremonial flame before sharing their stories of survival.
Nino has experienced cancer from both the perspective of a survivor and caregiver. She was diagnosed with cancer at age 30 and underwent successful treatment. In January, her husband was diagnosed with colon cancer.
Mercado was 21 when she was diagnosed with melanoma, a potentially deadly form of skin cancer.
“I brushed it off as not as serious as other types of cancer,” she said. With treatment, Mercado’s melanoma went into remission, but she has since had four additional diagnoses of skin cancer, despite taking precautions such as diligently protecting her skin with sunscreen and sun hats.
“I learned it’s a genetic disorder,” she said. “So the important thing is to get those checkups. I hope all of you walk away with that message today.”
Last year’s Hermiston Relay for Life raised more than $85,000. This year’s efforts were already approaching $50,000 nearly a week before the actual relay got under way.
Relay for Life was started in the mid-1980s by Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon from Tacoma. In May of 1985, as a way to raise money for his local American Cancer Society office, Klatt spent 24 continuous hours circling the track at the University of Puget Sound, covering 83 miles and raising $27,000. The first official Relay for Life took place the following year in Tacoma. Since then, the relay has grown to a national event and has raised nearly $5 billion in the fight against cancer.
For more information about the Hermiston Relay for Life, visit the Hermiston Facebook page.
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