By: Charles Romans
Carter County Times
The Carter County Relay for Life is dedicated not only to honoring survivors, but also to making people aware of who is considered a survivor.
“I have had people tell me that they weren’t a survivor because they still have cancer,” Carter County Relay for Life Co-Chair Brenda Kiser said. “But I tell them they are a survivor right now.”
Cancer is a terrible thing that touches the lives of far too many people, she said. That was one of the things they wanted to emphasize at their event on Saturday, October 24, at the Gregoryville Christian Church; because, she said, Relay for Life honors and supports those whose lives have been touched by it. Yes, they do raise money, she said, but this event is less about that and more about those for whom they do the fundraising.
“We fundraise all year and have our signs up,” Kiser said. “So, the day of the event, the only fundraising we actually do is we set up and sell luminaries and sky lanterns. But we are there to celebrate the survivors, and in memory of and in honor of those who have passed.”
The event began at 6 pm with a survivor’s dinner, she said.
“The survivors, their caregivers, and their families are invited to attend,” Kiser said. “We have a really nice dinner for them, we have a guest speaker, and we give out the survivor shirts and a small gift. And then after that we will go straight into our relay event. We started doing this because it allows our survivors to be a part of it,” Kiser said of the event.
“What is a survivor?” Kiser asked. “I’m going to tell you a little bit about a survivor. A survivor could be someone that has went into remission and they beat cancer. Or it could be someone who is fighting cancer right now. A lot of people don’t understand that, and we want to make sure that they do.”
The Relay event itself follows the dinner, Kiser said.
“We will talk about many things,” she said. “And we will have a reading of our ‘In Honor Of’ and ‘In Memory Of’ who have purchased luminaries. Right before dusk we will light the luminaries, and we will put those around the track where everyone is going to walk. And after that we will have our sky lanterns event,” Kiser said. “Then we will end the night with fireworks.”
Kiser said that so many people are impacted by cancer, but many people think it will never happen to them.
“Don’t ever think that,” she said. “I used to think that way, but then I got cancer.”
Kiser said she also lost an uncle to brain cancer who was more of a father figure to her, and there have been several other family members who have been lost to cancer. She understands firsthand how hard the fight can be, for both the survivors and their families, and just wants to share some hope.
“We just want everyone to know why we are doing this,” Kiser said. “And we want everyone to know what a survivor is. Every day that you beat cancer, you are a survivor.”
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
