Strong emotions flooded the sunny Brampton Fairground fields last Friday as over a thousand people gathered to celebrate life and fight for a cure in the ninth annual Canadian Cancer Society Relay for Life.
This national, 12-hour, nightlong fundraiser brought together friends and families for an evening mixed with joy and sorrow. But amongst the tears and laughter came the theme of hope – a feeling many participants said could be felt emanating from the event.
The event raised approximately $280,000, an unfortunate fraction of the $388,000 raised last year by the end of July. “The revenues were not as high as we had hoped they would be,” said fundraising coordinator Sue Scarfone. “Regardless of that we are extremely proud about how well the event went. With so many different events in the world today we recognize there is a lot of stress on the donor dollar.” Despite disappointing results, Scarfone believes this event was the best organized thus far.
Andrea Peca sits on the Relay for Life committee and is the current Survivor Chair for the organization. She discovered she had ovarian cancer when she was pregnant with her third child. After going through surgery in her fifth month of pregnancy, she overcame the disease only to find five years later that she once again had developed a new form of cancer. “I discovered, after everything, that I had thyroid cancer and that it had spread to my lymph nodes.” Peca is now in remission and stronger than ever. “There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t touch my neck and wonder if it’s there again, but my perspective on life is very different. I treasure everything and every moment. There are still going to be bad times but I’m hoping I’m inspirational to people.”
A colour coding system helped distinguish participants; survivors wore yellow shirts, participants wore white and volunteers were in blue. “I feel like these people are my family. It’s this bond that I really can’t explain. The minute you see someone in a yellow t-shirt, you go and you hug them, even if you don’t know them,” said Peca.
After the opening ceremonies, yellow t-shirts worn by children, teens and adults alike crowded the track in this poignant first lap, which helped kick-off the relay. Those who couldn’t walk were carried in classic cars, waving out the window as they passed an applauding crowd.
Leading in the front and carrying a banner signed by the survivors was Roy Schoenberger. He has lost both parents and a sister to this disease and five years ago was diagnosed with an aggressive form of colon cancer. He is now in remission. “You see so many people here and you realize how many people are affected and how many have died. You walk that lap and, as a survivor, you realize how lucky you are.” According to the Canadian Cancer Society, one in every four Canadians will die from cancer.
Tim Hortons coffee was in ample supply for the 120 teams in attendance. One member of each team was required to be on the lap at all times throughout the night. Tents were pitched across the fields, many decorated with photographs of loved ones lost. One of those tents belonged to the Benoit family. Inside Donna Benoit sat with several family members and friends discussing Aidan, her three-year old son who passed away last October from Neuroblastoma, a devastating form of cancer appearing most commonly in infancy. “Aidan was here last year as a survivor. He rode in the car and it was like he was a little celebrity,” said his mother as she held her two-month old daughter Kailan. “Everyone was clapping and he was blowing kisses to people. I don’t know how much he understood of why he was there but he really hammed it up.” Benoit admits it was difficult for her to attend this year’s event, but she felt it was important to tell Aidan’s story and raise awareness.
As dusk fell on the fairgrounds, local artists and deejay’s helped boost morale by performing popular music hits in the bandstand.
At 10 p.m., luminaries lining the relay track were lit to commemorate the victims of cancer. The white paper bags illuminated the dark grounds as people pushed on.
Participant Donna Crossman traveled from St. John, New Brunswick for the event. Her granddaughter, 13-year-old Emily, was donating her hair to the Canadian Cancer Society and Crossman wanted to be there to make the first snip. She battled through rounds of chemotherapy, a treatment that caused her to lose her hair, to beat breast cancer. Without her wig, Crossman walked across the stage to her granddaughter. “Being here means fight and live,” said Crossman. “I feel great. I feel alive.”
Donations are still being accepted by the Canadian Cancer Society until the end of July. You can donate online at www.cancer.ca/relay or by calling 905-451-4460.

An estimated 166,400 new cases of cancer and 73,800 deaths will occur in Canada in 2008.
• On average, 3,200 Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer every week.
• On average, 1,419 Canadians will die of cancer every week.
An estimated 79,400 Canadian women will be diagnosed with cancer and an estimated 35,000 women will die.
 Canadian Cancer Society
An estimated 87,000 Canadian men will be diagnosed with cancer and an estimated 38,800 men will die of cancer.
 
Based on current incidence rates, 39% of Canadian women will develop cancer during their lifetimes. Among men, 45% will develop cancer during their lifetimes.
 
Cancer is the leading cause of premature death - or early death - in Canada: 1,026,700 potential years were lost in 2004 as a result of cancer. This represents 32% of the potential years of life lost resulting from all causes of death.