less cancer. more birthdays.

So I'm participating in Relay for Life this weekend. I've never done it before. Relay for Life is the signature fundraising activity of the American Cancer Society, which exists to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays. It's an all-night event where teams of participants camp out and take turns walking around a track (or running, if you're weird enough to feel like running middle of the night) to raise money for ACS, and thus raise money for cancer research. I, of course, am a fan of this because there is very little research being done on the disease that currently threatens my mother's life, and I believe that is the primary reason for pancreatic cancer's terribly low survival rate.

Relays also provide an opportunity to remember those that we've lost to cancer and to celebrate and support those who are surviving. They take place during the night to symbolize the reality that cancer never sleeps. Relays are smaller events than fundraisers like Race for the Cure and take place in smaller communities (for instance, Memphis has one Race but several different Relays).

Our friend Cindi is heading up a team in Germantown's Relay for Life this Saturday, April 30th. The event starts at 6pm and lasts 'til 6am. If you live around here and aren't busy Saturday night, you should probably make plans to be there, because the event spokesperson will give a speech and then kick off the event by leading the Survivor Lap . . . and that spokesperson is none other than the famous Tricia! Yep, my mother the hero will be there to tell her survivor story (umm, do they know she's gone three rounds with two different types of cancer over the last ten years? Better bring some popcorn, folks - this could take a while.) And since she can't sleep at night anyway, she'll be on our team, too.* It's not too late to join our team so click here if you want to come hang out with us! The theme of the event is "Saddle Up for a Cure" and our team name is "Cowgirls - Spur for a Cure."** You don't have to be a cowgirl to be on our team, though - cowboys are welcome, too. And you also don't have to stay all night. You actually don't even have to join our team or be signed up at all to come play. Apparently it's a big party with food, music, craft booths, face painting, games, etc., and participants are encouraged to bring their friends and families (that's you!).

If you want to help out, you can do so by a) joining our team, b) donating to our team, or c) purchasing a luminaria, and you can do any or all of these things at this site. To donate in support of a certain person, just click on his/her name and then click "donate" near the top of the page. You can order a luminaria to remember someone who's been lost to cancer or to honor or support a survivor. Luminaria are lighted paper bags with names on them. They line the track and are lit during the Ceremony of Hope.

By the way, if you also click on that link, you might notice that our team is currently in first place for fundraising! :-)

Facebook/email/text/call Trish or Cindi or me if you need more details. Hope to see some of you there! I can't wait!


*How amazing is it that Trish actually feels well enough to stay up all night hanging out with her friends?

**Hear me when I say this: our team name is in no way a reference to the San Antonio Spurs. In fact, I suspect several of us will have no voices on Saturday night due to the loud cheering we will be doing for the Grizzlies tomorrow night. If you show up to the Relay in Spurs attire, it's very likely that you will be asked to leave. Or at least shunned. Don't say I didn't warn you. ;-)