John Rennie hosts Relay for Life

BY RAFFY BOUDJIKANIAN

raffy.boudjikanian@transcontinental.ca

Cancer has never been too far for Carole Lamarre, 56. "I've been touched by cancer in the family," she said. Her mother passed away from breast cancer about 30 years ago. "My aunt died of breast cancer too," she added. A cousin passed away from cancer as well, and another was told by a doctor she had six months to live -- and that was six years ago. "My mother was a war survivor from Poland," Lamarre told The Chronicle, her voice audibly shaky over the telephone. "She survived bombs over her head," the retired manager explained.

Lamarre, who was diagnosed with cancer herself, but early enough to be operated on, uses these personal stories as her inspiration to fight the spread of cancer and to preach prevention. This is why she volunteered to help organize the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life at John Rennie High School in Pointe Claire this weekend, she explained. About 300 participants split up into 30 different teams last Friday stayed in tents at the school from 7 p.m. at night to 7 a.m. Saturday morning for a relay marathon around the track at John Rennie’s field.

Reached before the event, another volunteer on the organizing committee, Patricia Empsall, 63, who also formed her own team, said she saw a request for volunteers to organize the event in The Chronicle and decided to give it her all in order to honour the memory of a friend who passed away after being diagnosed with three forms of cancer.

As a volunteer organizer, Empsall said she was expected to be on beck and call at 8 a.m. Friday morning, rather than later in the evening like the rest of the marathon teams. "I expect I'll be anxious for my bed Saturday," she told The Chronicle with a laugh before the event. At a downtown kick-off of the Relay for Life events across Canada last Thursday morning, Empsall said one of the Canadian Cancer Society's higher-ups had said in a speech that "cancer never sleeps," a thought that makes lack of sleep for one night a minor challenge.

McGill microbiology student Stefan Patrascu, 20, said he also volunteered at the organizing committee after seeing a newspaper ad and decided to set up his own team as well. "Research is currently advancing steadily," Patrascu explained, "but there really is a long way to go."

Last Thursday, Patrascu's group had raised a total of $1,000. According to Canadian Cancer Society spokesperson Maryse Bédard Allaire, the total goal for last Friday night was $70,000. Funds go toward research, community information services and support groups, and political advocacy.

In 2006-2007, the Society raised around $47 million through fundraisers. Head to www.cancer.ca for more information on how to donate and upcoming fundraising events.