By Julia Kazar

Relay for life

The Westside Relay for Life is taking place this Friday and Saturday at the Copley High School track. Relay for Life takes place in over 5,000 communities around the United States, and also in over 20 countries every year. It is a fun event where everyone in the community can get together to raise money for cancer research, and honor those that are fighting the disease or have lost the battle. There will also be a relay taking place in Canton at Canton Central Catholic Stadium.

Every relay consists of teams, usually of about 10-15 people who take turns walking around the track for an entire 24 hours, as well as individual volunteers who walk for as little or as long as they would like. The event always begins with a special lap honoring all cancer survivors. They all walk a victory lap around the track together. Then on the next lap all the caregivers join them, and after that everyone else can begin walking as well. During the night there is also a remembrance lap, to take a moment to honor and remember those who have lost the battle with cancer. During this lap luminaries are lit around the track too, it is a beautiful and special lap for everyone involved.

What makes the Westside Relay for Life unique is that during the relay there will be an American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study 3 (CPS-3) taking place. Previous Cancer Prevention Studies have linked smoking to lung cancer, who knows what this study might uncover. They are looking for 120-150 volunteers aged 30-65 who have no personal history of cancer. The study will involve answering a simple questionnaire and a blood test. In the following years there will occasionally be follow-up surveys. Overall it is a quick thirty minute process that can help countless people in years to come. If you are interested in taking part in the study sign up time is from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on June 18^th at the Copley High School track.

The whole goal of Relay for Life is to raise as much money as possible for cancer research. If you would like to donate to The Relay for Life, or The American Cancer Society in general please visit: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?pg=pfind&fr_id=23676.

Come out to one of the relays going on this weekend and show your support for cancer research either by taking some time to walk the track, or by donating.

Popularity: 11% [?]