Relay for Life returns after COVID
Oct. 2—HENDERSON — On this past Saturday, the eve of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the weather was near-perfect — not too cloudy, not too sunny, not too hot, not too cold. A soft, cool breeze tied the day up with a nice bow.
It was a good day for walking.
And that's exactly what some 200 people did, gathering at Henderson Family YMCA on Ruin Creek Road for Relay for Life, the first since the COVID-19 pandemic shut America down.
"We stopped, but cancer didn't," said Freddie Harris, a two-time cancer survivor who coordinated Saturday's four-hour relay. She fears that the pandemic slowed down cancer screenings as well.
Some longtime relayers shared their thoughts on the event's return. Real estate broker Donald Matthews has relayed since 1995.
"It really hurt that we had to abandon the relay," he said. He lost his father to cancer in 1995. That stirred him to start participating.
Matthews hopes Relay for Life can return to its former glory. Saturday's event was small in scope, being only four hours. The first ever relay, in 1985, lasted 24.
Mary Cobb remembers the events as "very productive" pre-COVID. She's a member of Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church, itself a longtime relay participant.
Cobb relays because she "knows the worth of the organization." She lost her husband to cancer in 2008.
"We're going to do all we can to help others be aware of cancer," she said.
Some relayers walked laps, others shopped from nearby vendors, before the opening address. City Councilwoman Melissa Elliott made a declaration on behalf of Mayor Eddie Ellington to recognize October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Vance County Board of Commissioners Chair Yolanda Feimster shared her experience as a cancer survivor.
With that, the relay began in earnest.
Cancer survivors, some young, others old, walked the first lap. They passed the finish line to thunderous applause. Each received a medal. One of the survivors was a student at Ballet Arts. Her fellow dancers gathered around her for a tearful group hug.
There wasn't a dry eye in sight.
Lastly, a quick note about the luminaries. Volunteers who put the paper lanterns together estimated around the organization sold around 800. Mount Olive Missionary Baptist brought around 400 more. The lanterns stretched around the mile-long track, spaced apart by around a foot each. Volunteers spelled out the word HOPE in the center of the track's field.
Each lantern was dedicated to somebody who had won or lost their battle with cancer, with some repeats. Seeing all those lanterns lined up, nameplates becoming unreadable in the distance, illustrates cancer's scale.
