Saturday, May 21, 2011

Relay for Life

2 years ago I didn't really know anyone that had cancer. Then a good friend of my mom's was diagnosed with leukemia. Lynette wrote a blog about her experiences and I followed it, learning about the personal side of cancer and crying when she died.

Last year, my cousin was diagnosed with leukemia. Krishana had been trying to become a missionary for several years and I had been supporting her, but the diagnosis and her moving home drew us closer. I was able to be there for her first run after being cleared by her oncologist. She was declared to be in remission and in February, moved to Austria for full-time mission work.

In March I got a call from Amy that a friend of ours from TaeKwonDo had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Sue hadn't been having symptoms for very long, but she was told it was a fast growing cancer and she probably only had 6 months to a year to live. She actually died about 2 weeks after the diagnosis.

Because of these wonderful, inspiring women I choose to participate in Relay for Life this year. I love the American Cancer Society's "More Birthdays"  slogan. A world with more birthdays seems like a great place to me. I don't want anyone else I know to lose birthdays because of cancer. I'm not really big into fund-raising, but I put a link on my facebook page and asked my parents to donate. I raised $235 and I'm very happy to be contributing in a small way to a world with more birthdays.