Today 1,500 people will die, and tomorrow another 1,500. Every day is a tragedy.  Because everyday 1,500 people die from cancer in the U.S. alone.  Cancer is merciless.  Cancer does not discriminate.  Cancer is everywhere.  Today a child lost his mom to cancer.  Today a woman lost her husband to cancer.  Today two parents lost their child to cancer.  This is the reality of our world.

Although I understand we are not able to mourn every life lost in the world I wonder why we constantly feature tragedies all over the world, such as shootings and war, yet we do not feature the 1,500 lives lost everyday to the hardest battle of all, cancer.  Everyday is a tragedy.  So I ask this, how are we mourning for this perpetual tragedy?  We are not.

Although many lives are lost to cancer, many people beat the odds. These people who beat the odds should be honored as if they were veterans of a war because they won. They beat a disease that kills 1,500 people a day. Where is their medal of honor?

In the LT community alone, there have been numerous staff and students affected by cancer. As we walk through the hallways of LT we pass a survivor or a caregiver every day without even realizing it.  These people need to be recognized for their tremendous strength and Relay for Life gives them that chance.

Although Relay has changed in numerous ways it has always has the same goal, bringing more birthdays, meaning joining the fight against cancer and hopefully decreasing the amount of diagnosis. The idea is to raise as much money as possible with a team to be donated to the American Cancer Society.  After fundraising money throughout the year there is an event on June 4^th on Bennett Field to celebrate the money raised as well as to show appreciation for survivors and caregivers.  For many, it is part of the grieving process for the loss of a loved one.

The most impactful part of relay is the Luminaria ceremony when it is dark out and there are illuminated white paper bags all along the track with names of survivors and loved ones who have passed. The American Cancer Society helps cancer patients everyday by doing things such as purchasing wigs, driving patients to appointments and most importantly research to find a cure for cancer.

Unfortunately, there has been a huge decline in attendance to the event. Over the years LT shows a slimmer number in participants.  I am so confused by this because more and more people are diagnosed with cancer everyday.  Although the event has changed from an overnight to a dance marathon to a 12-hour event, I cannot begin to comprehend why the attendance has dropped.  We are all affected by cancer.

I know many LT alumni and staff remember the tragic passing of funny, brave and theatric Jack Kunkle. My older sister was in his grade and although I did not know him as well as others I know that he loved Relay For Life.  I remember him giving a speech that had the whole Relay audience in tears.  His speech emphasized how difficult it is hearing the words “you have cancer” and he expressed how “cancer never sleeps, so neither should we” and so we didn’t.  We walked the track all night.  We came together. We fought together.  Although Jack Kunkle’s passing was one of LT’s and the world’s biggest losses, his spirit remains on the track.  So I encourage anyone who reads this to get back on the track for Jack as well as for many others struggling with the battle, the grief and the pain.

Sign up today at http://relay.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLCY16LS?fr_id=72529&pg=entry