In Celebration of You

Imagine yourself today. Imagine where you see yourself a year in the future.

Now imagine having all of your goals, hopes and dreams compromised by something completely out of your control. Imagine hearing the words “You have cancer.”

About three years ago, my family received a call explaining that my cousin Will had experienced a seizure during his workday. Will was a young adult and had no previous medical condition that would explain this event. He was just the type of young professional I aspire to be in future years.

We eventually found out that doctors had discovered multiple malignant tumors in Will’s brain. My cousin Will was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer that winter, altering his life and so many more in an instant.

I was always so impressed and inspired by Will. He spent six years living and working in Japan after college, proceeding to earn a JD and Masters of Law in International Law from Duke University and a subsequent Master’s of Law in Taxation from New York University. My family and I loved that he lived and worked in D.C., since all of our other extended family members maintained residence in cities further afield; Will was our special Washingtonian relative.

After his diagnosis, Will worked with some of the most advanced doctors at Johns Hopkins University and subsequently at UCLA. They did everything in their power to extend Will’s life as long as they possibly could. Will fought vigorously and without complaint, surrounded by support and prayers.

Will passed away in December of 2013, less than a year after his initial diagnosis.

I was 18 year old when Will died. I was 18 years old, and someone in my generation had passed away. It didn’t make logical sense. I couldn’t help but think that this could be me or one of my close friends in a decade or two, going through the exact same situation that Will so suddenly took on.

I Relay because after a situation in which I felt so helpless, I can have a serious impact on finding a cure for brain cancer in the future. There has been a 22% decrease in the cancer death rate in the last two decades, which translates to 1.5 million lives saved. Through Relay For Life at UVA, the American Cancer Society continuously funds new groundbreaking research that will continue to save lives.

The only thing I can think of that would be more difficult than experiencing such an abrupt and unfair loss as this is not doing anything to fix it. Although our family will always feel Will’s void, I can honor him by working towards a future without cancer. In the sea of crazy costumes and Vermonster Challenges, Concerts and 5Ks, Bar nights and Benefits, it’s easy to forget what Relay For Life if really about—making it possible for everyone to live our lives to the fullest.

I Relay in celebration of you, Will.

RelayLove,

Catherine Beall

Publicity Co-Chair

Mission Monday: The Movement

Rewind to May of 1985 in Tucoma, Washington. Meet Dr. Gordon Klatt, a colorectal specialist and running enthusiast with a desire to change something. Moderately involved in his local American Cancer Society, Dr. Klatt sought a way to bring more community awareness to the society and give them a way to get more involved.He started by running and walking the track at Baker Stadium for 24 hours which totaled 83 miles (that would be slightly more than running a marathon 3 times). While he circled the track, friends and family could donate $25 to go along with him. Within the course of that year, he raised $27,000, got over 300 friends, family members, and cancer patients involved, and got the ball rolling for what would soon be Relay for Life. 

Fast forward 30 years and Relay for Life is now the largest non-profit cancer fundraising group in the world. Relay takes place in many communities throughout the United States and has also started to have a number of events in other countries including South Africa, Japan, Ireland, and Australia. It has become a huge community movement that ties families, students, survivors, doctors, and so many more together. But in addition to all the fun, Relay for Life is about so much more. The money raised goes out to many organizations and research opportunities and is used to create a cancer free future.  

This year, the Relay for Life Blog at UVA will be having weekly Mission Monday posts. Each highlight a different aspect of what the money earned through Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society goes to. Just a little sneak peek, you will learn more about the Hope Lodge which hosts families and patients currently undergoing treatments. Or Road to Recovery which provides rides to and from treatments for patients. Or Look Good...Feel Better which is all about providing women with opportunities to pick up on little beauty tips - from scarves to wigs - to make chemotherapy more fun.Or about all of the amazing research going on across the world - from top labs in Europe to break through discoveries that have been happening here in our backyard at the UVA Medical School. So starting next Monday, but ready to learn just way Relay is so amazing (in addition to the wonderful people of course).

With Relay Love,

Maria 

CANCER IS REAL

I Relay for Nanny and Papa. But before I tell you my story, I want to acknowledge something: everyone has their own cancer story. Mine is neither better nor worse than anyone else’s, but it is my story. It is the reason I want to see cancer’s cure in my lifetime. It’s the reason I have become involved with Relay For Life at UVa, and it is what I come back to when I get stressed out or unmotivated doing my job with Relay. 

Cancer became real to me when I was in the 5th grade. My parents told me gently that my grandmother (Nanny) had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I didn’t know what cancer was, what an ovary was, or why my mom seemed so upset. Cancer became real though when I saw Nanny’s scars. When I saw her lift up her shirt a couple of days after her surgery, I was wholly unprepared for the sight of a scar running all the way up the length of her stomach. It wasn’t one of those “Oh, you’ll have a great story to tell about that scar” scars. It was a gash, held together by Frankenstein-esque staples. I didn’t know what to say, but at that moment, I began to understand just how real and vicious cancer is.

Cancer became even more real when I shaved my head. I, along with my brothers and cousins, got a buzz cut when Nanny started her chemotherapy. We couldn’t do much to help Nanny in her treatment, but we could try to let her know that we loved her, and shaving our heads as she lost her hair seemed to be the best way that we knew how to tell her . I discovered a little bit of what she must be feeling when I looked in the mirror after that buzz cut. It was horrible. I’ll never shave my head again if I can help it. But the thing is, cancer patients can’t help it. Cancer takes away that decisions of how you want to do your hair. In that moment, looking at my new haircut in the mirror, cancer’s effects became a little more real to me.

Cancer became even more real when Papa, my grandfather, was diagnosed with colon cancer. It seems like just a few days from the time he was diagnosed to the time he passed away, though it was actually a couple of weeks. Cancer was real, cancer was vicious, and cancer was painful as I told Papa how much I loved him in the hospital shortly before he died. I saw how real cancer had become to so many of Papa’s friends and our family at his visitation. It was hard for me to imagine how cancer could be so utterly devastating by taking someone who had meant so much to so many people.

Cancer has become even more real in the past two years at UVa. It has become real as I have met people and heard their stories. It has become real as I have taken classes from professors doing cancer research currently. It has become real as I walk around the track every year at Relay For Life seeing so many names on the Luminaria.

Cancer is real. Now, though, through my work with Relay For Life at UVa, I know that my effect on cancer is real. The money I raise has real effects. The money I raise goes to cancer research. The money I raise goes to give women wigs. The money I raise allows people to get rides to their treatments. The money I raise pays for lodging near treatment facilities for people who have to travel. The money I raise supports advocacy and support groups. The money I raise will one day fund real cures for all types of cancers.

Cancer is real, but so is our work to see its end. Join me and Relay For Life, so that we can live in a cancer free world. 

With RelayLOVE,

Miller Sisson

Greek Recruitment Co-Chair