BIBLE HILL - Hillary Lynds was honoured to learn a group of men wanted to participate in the Relay For Life for her.
"It's a jeep club of a bunch of guys and it was great that they were thinking of me," said Lynds, a 26-year-old from Brookfield currently undergoing her sixth round of chemotherapy for breast cancer.
In October, Lynds was given the diagnosis of stage 1, grade 3 cancer.
"I was numb because I was unsure about what was going to happen. I didn't know what was next," she said while inside the gymnasium at the AgriTech Park with her friend, James, also a cancer survivor.
Lynds was a guest speaker for Friday's Relay For Life, celebrating its 10th year in Colchester County in support of the Canadian Cancer Society. With about 140 survivors and almost 60 teams, more than $140,000 was raised.
Lynds isn't the only member of her family battling cancer. Her grandmother is currently battling the disease and two years ago, Lynds' grandfather lost his battle.
"The older I get, the more people I meet that have or have had cancer. It's scary."
Her first year participating in the event, Lynds wanted to raise awareness about the disease.
"And I want to get to talk to people mostly. I want to meet everyone."
For Sarah Fowler, this year's relay is a special one. Last year, her daughter Breanna, then four, was an inpatient with neuroblastoma.
"It was heartbreaking for us to leave her in the hospital not knowing if she was going to be a survivor," Fowler said about participating last year.
This year, Breanna walked the survivor's lap with her friends and family.
"It will be two years in September that she's been fighting (cancer), but she's three months out of getting treatment now."
Being part of the relay is important for the Fowler family, because not much is known about the aggressive form of cancer.
"There is no cure for it. You either get lucky or you don't. The chance of a relapse for Breanna is very high."
She said being at the relay this year is giving the family a chance to show Breanna off to friends, family and the rest of the community.
"She gets to light her own candle this year and walk with us. It's hard to get it into her head that she's a survivor. She's beat it and for a child, that's hard to understand. She thinks she's still sick," Fowler said.
Sitting under the Prayer Angels sign, Debert's Barb Pratt worked on a pair of angel wings for her mother-in-law.
"A lot of people have been touched by cancer - my grandmother had cancer and fought it for quite a while, and my mother-in-law was diagnosed with it," said Pratt, who was participating in the relay for the first time.
"I really wanted to be a part of it and raise money so we can hopefully find a cure and we won't lose anymore family members."
She knows how quickly cancer can come and go after having a friend lose their battle within two weeks. However another friend was luckier and is still fighting it 20 years later.
"I hope I'll get a chance to hear different stories and how people were able to come through it," said Pratt.
rtetanish@trurodaily.com
