Locals Help in the Fight Against Cancer

Survivors, caregivers, and others who wanted to do their part in the fight against cancer took to the track at this past weekend.

They were all part of the American Cancer Society’s nationwide Relay for Life fundraising effort to help find a cure to the deadly disease. Some participants even pitched tents on the track and braved the cold overnight.

The 24-hour fundraiser in Dublin had 100 walkers registered when it started, but organizers said they hoped to double that with walk-up registrations. Sixteen teams were registered to participate, as well as individual walkers.

In addition to the donations the walkers collected, dozens of companies and businesses in the areas pitched in by contributing everything from tents and a stage for live music, to gift cards and other goodies for a silent auction, and water and pizza for the walkers.

The contributors included Extreme Pizza, , Whole Foods, the restaurant and Girl Scout Troop No. 32595.

Organizers said they hope to raise at least $27,000 this year after having raised $24,000 last year. In addition to the walk and entertainment, a 45-minute firework extravaganza took place Saturday night.

Cathy Miller, the co-chair of the local Relay for Life and a leukemia survivor, welcomed everyone Saturday morning and shared her story.

“It’s 2001, and I heard those words ‘you have cancer,’” Miller said. “I’m here today because of the funds that have gone to the American Cancer Society.”

She credited research funded by the American Cancer Society for helping her live well past the 5-year life expectancy rate for someone diagnosed with leukemia in 2001.

“It’s a means to be able to do something about fighting it,” Miller said about the fundraiser.

Deborah Wright, 52, of Castro Valley, was one of the many survivors who walked the first lap. Relay for Life was a new experience for her. Wright was diagnosed with breast cancer last May and appears to have beaten it.

She credited events like Relay for Life for bringing cancer survivors and people whose lives have been affected by the disease together.

“I think it’s awesome,” Wright said about Relay for Life. “I wish I was involved [before getting cancer].”

Mayor Tim Sbranti called the relay “a great community event” that Dublin has supported over the years.

“It certainly makes you closer,” Royce Everone, of Walnut Creek, said. “My life has expanded.”

Everone got involved by filming the event, walking and drumming up food donations for the relay and local food banks because her fiancé, Warren Larson, is a three-time survivor of cancer, including cancer attributed to his military service in Vietnam. She also lost grandparents to cancer.

Palo Alto Medical Foundation Nurse Health Educator Leilani Stone helped out as the Fight Back Chair for the relay. Her job was to educate people about cancer and encourage people to get tested for the disease. She is also lobbying for the California Cancer Research Act, an effort to raise the prices on cigarettes, add almost $600 million a year for cancer research, control tobacco and reduce youth smoking.

Relay for Life’s goals include preventative care, celebrating the survivors and remembering people killed by cancer, Stone said.

“When you have everything set up like this, it helps make people aware about cancer,” Stone said. “We are here to give people the cancer facts.”