BARRY’S BAY – From kids to seniors, people from all walks of life this past May 31, gathered to unite and take a stand against cancer.
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, on average about 500 Canadians are diagnosed with cancer each day. What’s more, about 200 Canadians each day die from cancer.
But for the fifth year in a row here in Barry’s Bay, people from abroad united to say, ‘No, it’s not okay.’
“I don’t want to see anyone else’s grandma suffer like mine did,” high school student Melanie Plebon said at the opening ceremony for this year’s Relay for Life event.
Plebon was one of the many speakers who kicked off the relay event. She spoke about her losing her grandmother to a brain tumour.
“I believe we can make a change,” she spoke passionately to a field full of attendees, teams, caregivers, and survivors, and to those battling cancer. “I believe, yes, I am one person but one more volunteer, one more person, one more team can make a difference. We can make a wave, here today, to end cancer.”
And Plebon was hardly alone – nearly 25 teams came together this year to take part in the fifth annual relay and to take a stand against cancer.
“The thing is cancer affects so many people’s lives,” Mayor David Shulist said. “It’s important we keep the fight going.”
In Canada, cancer is responsible for about 30 per cent of all deaths.
Story continues in the June 5, 2013 issue of The Valley Gazette.