Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Supported by "Team Tomarrow" at the 2013 Plant City Relay For Life, cancer fighter David Butcher is backed by "Be the Match" in his search for a bone marrow donor.
Cancer fighter David Butcher and his wife, Anne, on leave from her job as pastor at Crystal Lake United Methodist Church in Lakeland, joined purple-shirted supporters at the 2013 Plant City Relay For Life at Plant City High School. There, the Plant City couple discussed Butcher's role as a "poster child" for Be the Match, in whose name "Team Tomarrow" was raising money at the overnight American Cancer Society fundraiser. Diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia on January 9, Butcher said he is looking for a bone marrow match. "It was a little shaky at first," he said about his diagnosis reaction, "but we've been very blessed to have three grown kids and seven grandkids." It's a life well-lived as much as it is a fight worth taking that …
The Plant City community paid tribute to cancer victim Megan Carpenter at the 2013 Plant City Relay For Life. Carpenter was a student at Plant City High School when cancer struck.
Fairy princess makeovers were the order of the night at the 2013 Plant City Relay For Life, where tables adorned in pink, manned by volunteers dressed in pink, punctuated a community's commitment to never forget Megan Carpenter and her young life well lived. "She was very involved with Plant City High School and she was just an amazing girl who needs to be remembered," said Kelly Drake, 16, a junior at the school Carpenter attended. Carpenter died in 2006 at age 17. Her long battle with cancer ended just days after community fundraisers were held for her and two other Plant City teenagers battling cancer. According to Carpenter's obituary, she fought a cancer battle that lasted five- and a-half years. This sweet angel showed everyone …
Sunday, April 21, 2013
The competition for best crazy hat highlights the age span that defines the Relay For Life movement. Old and young alike join in the fight to the finish line, in the race to find a cure for cancer.
What keeps the participants going at the American Cancer Society's annual Relay For Life overnight fundraiser? Wherever it is, it's the ongoing entertainment and good-natured competitions that do the trick. Count among them the "crazy hats" contest at the 2013 Plant City Relay For Life, where attendees old and young, representing their respective teams, took to the stage to vie for top honor. Shortly after Hunter Miller took first place for his team from Cork Elementary School, the youngster raised his hands in celebratory fashion, working the stage like a seasoned pro. "I really like going up on stage and doing fun things," he said. As for wearing a funny hat and staying overnight at a Relay For Life fundraiser? He's doing it, he said, …
Saturday, April 20, 2013
The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life at Plant City High School wraps up today, April 20, after a Friday night lineup of events, booths, survivors and volunteers.
The 2013 Plant City Relay For Life drew a determined crowd to Plant City High School for the overnight April 19-20 fundraiser. Here's a collection of photographs that give testament to the hard work of volunteers, participants and survivors who came together to raise funds and awareness for the fight against cancer. Do you have a photo to add? Click the "Upload Photos and Videos" link above. Were you at the Plant City Relay For Life? Tell us about your experiences there in the comment box below. ______________ Check back with Brandon Patch for additional photographs and stories on the 2013 Plant City Relay For Life, including coverage of the "Crazy Hat" competition, remembering Megan Carpenter and the story of "Team Tomarrow," featuring …
The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life at Armwood High School wraps up today, April 20, after a Friday night lineup of events, booths, survivors and volunteers.
The 2013 Seffner Relay For Life drew a determined crowd to Armwood High School for the overnight April 19-20 fundraiser. Here's a collection of photographs that give testament to the hard work of volunteers, participants and survivors who came together to raise funds and awareness for the fight against cancer. Do you have a photo to add? Click the "Upload Photos and Videos" link above. Were you at the Seffner Relay For Life? Tell us about your experiences there in the comment box below.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
The American Cancer Society's 2013 Relay For Life season in Eastern Hillsborough County started strong with events at Riverview and Newsome high schools. Events are coming at Armwood, Bloomingdale, Brandon and Plant City high schools.
Successful events at Newsome and Riverview high schools marked the opening round of the American Cancer Society's 2013 Relay For Life season in Eastern Hillsborough County, with close to $190,000 raised at these two Relays alone, according to the latest online account. Additional Relays for Eastern Hillsborough County are scheduled in the weeks ahead for Armwood, Bloomingdale, Brandon and Plant City high schools. Collectively, as of 5 a.m. March 23, the six sites in Eastern Hillsborough County had reported 249 teams, 3,634 participants and $274,045.14 raised. (See chart below.) That represents a $17,400 increase since the last Patch posting, March 23. In reading the chart below, keep in mind that final tallies for Relay events don't come…
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Carol Marden, the organizer of the Greater Seffner Relay For Life dinner theater banquet at The Regent offers praise and words of hope for those who helped stage the event and for those living with and through cancer.
The following report was submitted by Carol Marden, who chaired the Greater Seffner Relay For Life fundraiser banquet held Oct. 3 at The Regent in Riverview, with a performance by Stagedoor Performing Arts. _______________ Last year was my first Relay for Life. Sue Smith and Ann Renee Rehm, who were the chairpersons for the Seffner Relay for Life, asked me to attend. They also asked if I would speak as a survivor. I experienced a feeling that was very warm, pleasing and the acknowldgment of much more hope. In Feb. 2010 I was diagnosed with mucosal melamona which is internal melanoma and very rare. I am so fortunate to have the wonderful care through Tampa General Hospital, the exceptional care available at the Moffitt Cancer Center, …
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
A fundraiser banquet on behalf of the 2013 Seffner Relay For Life will feature "A History of Broadway," presented by actors from Stagedoor Performing Arts. A yard sale in October also will benefit the American Cancer Society's cause to fight cancer.
A dinner theater performance and buffet dinner is on tap for The Regent in Riverview, at the Oct. 3 fundraiser banquet for the 2013 Seffner Relay For Life at Armwood High School. "All proceeds go to the Seffner Relay for Life teams to help the American Cancer Society put an end to cancer," notes the Greater Seffner Area Chamber of Commerce in an announcement for the event. "Bring the whole family for an enjoyable evening." Last year's Seffner/Dover Relay For Life broke its record, raising more than $35,000 for the American Cancer Society, for its first-ever Relay at Armwood High School. In years past, the event was held at Burnett, the only Tampa Bay area Relay held at a middle school. Entertainment will be provided by the community …
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 …
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 ›