Guest Column: Relay For Life about more than just numbers

For the fourth year in a row,  the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life is coming to the Asa Wood School – this year on Aug. 6-7.

Relay gives all of us a chance to get involved and to make a difference in the fight against cancer – a fight none of us can afford to lose.

While most people realize that the American Cancer Society funds a tremendous amount of research – over $130 million was spent on research last year – most people do not realize that patient support is where most of the money goes.

It goes to support people right here at home with the Lodging Program alone providing more than 10,000 rooms for cancer patients here in Montana since January 2008. In Lincoln County, the ACS provided 188 rooms, free of charge, so that our friends, neighbors and loved ones could have a place to stay when traveling out of town for treatment.

It’s easy to think of the American Cancer Society as some huge corporation but in reality it is the volunteers that make it all work. Only 7 percent of ACS’s budget in 2008 went to staff and management. It is the millions of people who are involved at the local level that are the true stars of the show. Over 3 million people in more than 5,000 communities were involved in Relay For Life last year alone.

Those are all impressive numbers, but they are just that – numbers. Cancer gets much more personal than that. It’s one person at a time, maybe you, that had to hear that they have cancer.

We are going to continue to find cures and solutions in the future. But wouldn’t it be great if the future could be now? For that to happen, we need to raise money and awareness, every year, and that is where Relay For Life plays an important part.

So mark it on your calendar, Aug. 6 at Asa Wood School, and join us in this life-changing event. There will be entertainment and food galore, and if you have never seen a Luminaria Ceremony, you are in for a treat.

If you would like information about putting a team together, joining up with the Relay Committee, or if you have any other questions, give me a call at 293-9277.

We’re dreaming of a day when  cancer is scared of us, not the other way around. Dare to dream with us.

(Keith Meyers is a volunteer organizer for Lincoln County Relay For Life).