Thursday, April 26, 2012
The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life movement has become the world's largest fundraiser, playing out locally with scenes that capture a shared experience of hope and commemoration.
The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life movement has become the world's largest fundraiser, playing out locally with scenes that capture a shared experience. Most moving of all is the gathering that takes place at each Relay For Life just before the start of the luminaria lap, which is walked in commemoration of both those who have lost their lives to cancer and those who are fighting to survive. The lights dim, the candles are lit, and often a slide presentation is shown beforehand that features the treasured photographs of the never-forgotten, people whose lives played out as children, parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, preachers, teachers, co-workers and neighbors. The memorial follows the march of …
Monday, April 23, 2012
Facing an unexpected diagnosis and then the fight for her life, Kim Mitchell said she learned a lot from the colon cancer that threatened to end her days in less than a year's time. She walked the survivor's lap at the Relay For Life at Plant City High.
It's been a year of shock for Kim Mitchell, whose battle against colon cancer started with a Stage 4 diagnosis after a routine hysterectomy. "It was like somebody just knocked the wind out of me," Mitchell said, at the Plant City Relay For Life on April 20, at Plant City High School. "I had no symptoms, it didn't run in my family. It took awhile to sink in. I didn't think I heard it right." Second and third opinions backed up the initial diagnosis and at one point Mitchell was told she was likely to have only six to eight months to live. Her battle against cancer included an intensive, six-month round of chemotherapy — three times a week, every two weeks — and surgery to remove a foot of her colon. Then, a "miraculous" declaration from …
The 2012 Relay For LIfe season in Southeastern Hillsborough County ended at Plant City High School, where more than 80 teams committed to fight the fight to rid the world of cancer.
Another year, another mega-showing for the Relay For Life of Plant City, which makes Barbara Franques, whose husband died from cancer, a very happy woman. A long-time employee of the Hillsborough County School District, from which she retired as an area director, Franques has long been a key supporter and advocate for the Plant City Relay, one of the largest in the state. Last year’s event topped $270,000 and again, this year, the Plant City Relay For Life, April 20-21 at Plant City High School, was expected to top that number as well. That’s a lot of dollars to combat cancer. “What’s so amazing is the commitment of the groups that contribute to our cause,” Franques said, noting not only the seven Relay For Life events in Southeastern …
Friday, April 20, 2012
The Plant City Relay For Life runs April 20-21, poised to add dramatically to the total funds raised to date in Southeastern Hillsborough County, at Armwood, Bloomingdale, Brandon, Lennard, Newsome and Riverview high schools.
The American Cancer Society's 2012 Relay For Life season in Southeastern Hillsborough County wraps up this weekend with the area's historically largest event, at Plant City High School, poised to raise the totals significantly. Opening ceremonies for the Plant City Relay For Life kick off today, April 20, at 6 p.m., with the Survivor Lap commencing 30 minutes later. Plant City is the last of this year's seven Relays For Life in Southeastern Hillsborough County. Collectively, the six Relays For Life to date have collected $633,654, according to preliminary figures obtained from the American Cancer Society unit office on Oakfield Drive in Brandon. Preliminary numbers are expected to rise as Relay For Life teams have through the summer to …
Monday, April 16, 2012
Limona Elementary School teacher Jan Sedory is in a lifelong battle against cancer but focuses less on the fight and more on acceptance to get her through the journey.
Jan Sedory has learned this about cancer: It’s not about the fight. The fight wears you down, she said, but with acceptance, you’re armed to go the distance. That was the message she brought, as a survivor, to the 2012 Greater Brandon Relay For Life at Brandon High School, held overnight April 14-15. Sedory wore the purple shirt of a survivor and attended the event with her colleagues from Limona Elementary School, where Sedory has been a teacher for 18 of her 32 years in education. It’s been almost eight years since Sedory said she was surprised by doctors when they told her she not only had cancer but that it was already at an advanced stage. “I didn’t let it seem like a death sentence,” she said. “I went back to work. I didn’t dwell …
Sunday, April 15, 2012
The Greater Brandon Relay For Life, for the American Cancer Society's fight against cancer, wraps up this morning, April 15, at the football field and track at Brandon High School.
The Greater Brandon Relay For Life marked a three-Relay weekend, with events also at Bloomingdale High (April 13-14) and Lennard High (April 14-15). The Brandon event was held April 14-15 at the football field and track at Brandon High School. Relays at Newsome and Riverview high schools were held the weekend before. The Plant City Relay For Life wraps up the 2012 season in Eastern Hillsborough County with its event, April 20-21, at Plant City High School. ______________ RELATED COVERAGE:
Friday, April 13, 2012
Noted are spring fests sponsored by the Riverview and Sabal Park chambers of commerce and Rotary Club of Tampa East. Also, BSAC open house and truck rally, Relays For Life at Brandon, Bloomingdale and Lennard, pancakes for ECHO and more.
Events: April 14
Friday, April 6, 2012
Preliminary totals are in for the American Cancer Society’s first three of six Relays For Life in Eastern Hillsborough County, with fundraising receipts in excess of $375,000. Seffner posted the largest percentage increase.
Lori Libhart is certain of one thing. Armwood High School, she said, “is where we needed to be.” As president-elect of the Greater Seffner Area Chamber of Commerce, Libhart was speaking on behalf of the volunteers, organizers, participants and community, school and business interests that came together to break a fundraising record at the American Cancer Society’s Greater Seffner Relay For Life. This year the event, for the first time, was held at Armwood High School, which under its new principal, Mike Ippolito, allowed for the use of the school’s football field and track. “It’s where we needed to be and it’s a bigger, more [fitting venue] than what we had at Burnett Middle School,” Libhart added, in reference to the site for the …
Monday, April 2, 2012
What a weekend for Seffner, where the Greater Brandon community engaged in its annual Relay For Life, only this year to welcome arms at Armwood High.
Thanks to a willing principal and to the die-hard tenacity of committed Relay For Life organizers, the little Relay that could proved that it, indeed, can. From here it can only get better for the participants and supporters of the Seffner Relay For Life, who kicked off their inaugural year on the field and track of Armwood High on the last weekend of March. With the number of participants and the spirit they possessed there can be nothing but growth for the Relay that started six years ago on the track of Burnett Middle School. In its first year, the Seffner event raised roughly $6,000 for the American Cancer Society’s fight against cancer. With no lights on the field, organizers had to rent them. There were no bathrooms. There was no …
Kristi
9:31 pm on Thursday, May 3, 2012
Kim that is wonderful!! I do have a question for you; my father was diagnosed with IV colon cancer a two years ago. He has had the sugery, radioemblization, and several rounds of chemo, with all the different kinds for colon cancer and nothning is working! I was wondering what chemo did you use? His oncologist is stumped as well. more ›