Cancer Survivors Honored During Relay for Life

Cancer survivors were honored in American Cancer Society’s annual Relay for Life at Bellville High School with the first lap dedicated to cancer survivors. The relay was a twelve-hour race event that began at 7 p.m. at Bellville West High School. Typically relay participants for each team take turns walking or running around the track in support of cancer research. The Relay for Life last year raised nearly 90,000 dollars for research.

Tracy Urick was asked to speak in support of cancer patients. She led the group of cancer survivors around the track for the honorary lap. She had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, a form with a cure rate 95 percent successful. However, Urick expressed some guilt as the chosen representative of cancer survivors. She said that many people have fought really hard battles in order to survive cancer and thyroid cancer does not compare. Urick is wife and mother of two teens and was originally diagnosed in 2008.

The annual Relay for Life began with team members taking turns around a quarter mile track for the entire twelve-hour period. Other events included are the Survivor Dinner before the race and an Inspirational Fight Back ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Thirty-eight teams initially signed up with 300 participants. The number was expected to grow to 600 when joined by local teens from Bellville and Althoff High School nearby.

The goal was to raise more money for cancer research than the previous year. The American Cancer Society estimates over 37,000 cases of thyroid cancer alone are diagnosed in the United States each year. Research and support from similar events will continue to aid those afflicted with cancer.