Relay for Life of Dearborn May 1-2
With the 2010 Relay for Life of Dearborn just around the corner, we wanted to again remind our readers of the dates (May 1 through May 2, from 10 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center) and of the ways to get involved in the Relay.
To find out more about the Relay For Life of Dearborn, contact ACS Community Representative Deena Gardner at 248-663-3427, deena.gardner@cancer.org or Dearborn Event Chair Denise Abdullah at 313-336-9020, deniseabdullah@hotmail.com, or visit www.relayforlife.org/dearbornmi.
Relay committee member and Dearborn resident Morris Goodman, a cancer survivor, provided the column below to Deepsaidwhat.com. Attending the Relay, as you will read, is a good way to see for yourself the good things being done to help eradicate cancer and to help those effected by it.
Goodman’s column begins below.
As anyone who has read my column over the last several years knows I almost died of colon cancer in June 2007.
Morris Goodman
To remind myself of how fortunate I am to be alive and how important it is for everyone to be informed about the reality of cancer, I have become deeply involved in Dearborn’s Relay For Life. RFL is a major nationwide fundraising and cancer awareness program of the American Cancer Society, which includes over 5000 localities and several million people. The Dearborn Relay is May 1 and May 2 this year on the soccer field in front of the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.
What impresses me most about Dearborn’s Relay For Life is how very, very inclusive it is. Men and women, young and old, Muslim and Christian (and one Jewish Unitarian- Universalist), white collar, blue collar, and unemployed are all present in large numbers. Just as cancer encompasses all levels and aspects of society so does Relay. While cancer develops in individuals, its impact affects entire families. And it is cancer families, which form the backbone of RFL.
Relay events celebrate cancer survivors and honor those who have succumbed to the disease. The opening ceremony at 10 a.m. on May 1 at the Center will culminate with 150 Dearborn cancer survivors walking around the track to the cheers of those assembled. The entire family can enjoy The Dearborn RFL for 24 hours – with entertainment around the clock, many varieties of food offerings, awareness activities, and fun games, with all proceeds benefiting the American Cancer Society. At 10 p.m. that night there is a powerful luminaria ceremony where those who have passed away are remembered by candlelight by their loved ones.
The American Cancer Society uses Relay to do two critical things – (1) to raise money for cancer research and to aid those battling cancer that need financial support and (2) to increase the awareness of Americans about the need for early detection to combat and limit cancer’s damage and to give hope to all that cancer can be conquered in the future.
Regardless of an individual’s economic situation, ACS provides support groups and 24-hour/7-day a week information. This lets those with cancer and their families realize that they are not alone, and help in many forms is readily available.
While the recently passed national expansion of health care insurance will soon increase the ability of millions to get early cancer screening tests, that is presently already being done by ACS for thousands of Americans who would not otherwise be able to afford such tests. Moreover, ACS provides free of charge many Hope Lodges around the country (there is a Hope Lodge in Grand Rapids) where the relatives of cancer patients with long term hospitalizations can stay overnight so they can spend time together away from the hospital.
Dearborn’s 24 hour Relay for Life is a wonderful experience for everyone, not just those who have close relatives or friends who are battling or have battled the disease of cancer. We all know people who have had cancer, and we all have fears that we, or someone we love, could be diagnosed with it at any time. Cancer in the past has struck terror in the hearts of so many, but that does not have to continue. The American Cancer Society “fights back” and is a source of hope and comfort for millions.
Come to Dearborn’s Relay on May 1 and 2 and see for yourself all the good things being done to help eradicate cancer and to help those effected by it. It will change your life for the better. For more information or to make a donation call Debbie Malyn 313-683-2573 or go to www.relayforlife.org/dearbornmi