By LACHLAN MOORHEAD AND BRIDGET SCOTT
ASKED if she had anything else to add, a cancer survivor said one word – “hope”.
It’s a sentiment shared by survivors, carers, friends and family alike as they participated in Friday’s Relay for Life, with the Casey event drawing over 4300 people for over 24 hours, together raising in excess of $360,000 for the Cancer Council.
Committee member Karen Ryken said the tally would continue to grow over the next month.
Describing the event as absolutely huge, with 114 teams putting their best foot forward, Ms Ryken said she was once again overwhelmed by the community response.
People flooded the grounds at Akoonah Park on Friday, preparing for the official start and part of a moving moment during the survivors’ walk.
“We start with the oath and the first lap is always dedicated to cancer survivors,” Ms Ryken said.
“It gives carers the chance to support their people and survivors can take a breath, and know they’re not alone.”
Later in the night, teams also put out paper bags with candles alongside pictures of loved ones.
Ms Ryken explained that different coloured candles represented people’s battle with cancer.
“If the candles were brown, it means we’ve lost a person, and if it’s white, it is a survivor,” Ms Ryken explained.
“We turn off the lights and the whole place is surrounded by candlelight.”
Although the weather turned inclement on the Saturday, it did not dampen the spirit of any of the exhausted walkers.
The event was called off half an hour earlier, and the committee praised the teams for their effort.
“It always takes me back how many people want to make a difference,” Ms Ryken said.
Unable to name a team as the highest fund-raiser yet, Ms Ryken said around five sides were all close to the top mark.
While teams have a month left to fund-raise, the event last year raised in excess of $500,000, a figure hard to beat.
Ms Ryken has seen the event grow each year, joining the committee nine years ago after her mother was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma.
Chris Peake Real Estate has also been a regular participant after its founder passed away from lung cancer five years ago.
Marisa Adams has since purchased the business, and said their office shut its doors on the Saturday of the Casey Relay for Life event in honour of Ms Peake.
“It was a wish of hers to see her business continue; she spent many years building it up,” Ms Adams said.
“She’d be very proud of the whole thing.”
John Harrison, formerly from Beaconsfield, walked in the relay with, and for, his wife Donna, after she battled and eventually overcame anaplastic lymphoma.
John said Donna’s journey was the reason they relayed.
“We didn’t know whether she was going to make it or not,” he said.
“I was sitting at her bed most days holding her hand, just talking to her and you knew that the fight she had ahead of her was going to be huge, but she certainly wouldn’t stop doing it.”
Pakenham’s Annie Roberts, also a committee member, has been walking in the Relay for Life for seven years, but nearly four years ago it became “personal” when her youngest son, Phillip, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
“His form of leukaemia was extremely aggressive, chemotherapy didn’t work, his only chance of survival was a bone marrow transplant,” Annie said.
“His sister, my daughter, turned out to be a perfect match and she saved his life.
“Relay became very, very personal and because we had so much support from the Cancer Council and lots of other people, we decided that we wanted to give something back.”
