People participate in Relay for Life for a number of reasons. Some participate as survivors, as caregivers, to honor family and friends, to remember those they have lost, and to join in on this global fight to end cancer. A few months ago, I shared my experiences with Relay For Life. I enjoy Relay for Life because of these experiences and because of the incredible night full of friendship, laughter, tears, and unity. But, when it comes down to it, the reason I relay is much more than to have a good night.

Why I Relay

I relay because I am angry
That good people's cells
Grow out of control, against them
When they seemed perfectly well

That we have to send teddy bears
To children in the hospital
When they should be at home
Playing with their trucks and dolls

Because today a woman will cry
As she loses her beautiful hair
Knowing that's not all she fears losing
While the cancer is still there

I relay because I once heard a story
About a man whose decision was set
That he would rather die
Than put his family in debt

Because my friend deserves
To have her mom at graduation
And because maybe my grandfather
Wouldn't have watched my dad's promotion from Heaven

Because for those lost to cancer,
Too many tears have been shed
And too many hearts have dropped
At the words a doctor said

I relay for a world
Where people don't spend their lives
In a constant fight
Just to stay alive

Where the words "You have cancer"
Don't already feel like a death sentence
And where the results of testing
Will not create such suspense

I relay because we have a race to run
And I am someone who can
For those who can not,
The baton is in my hands

I relay because cancer is the stormy seas
And we are the keepers of the lighthouse on the shore
Where hope shines through the darkness
Until the day cancer is no more

Why do you relay?