Youth step up in the fight against cancer

Saugeen District Secondary School (SDSS) students joined 25,000 other secondary school students in 150 schools to host their 4th Relay for Life fight against cancer event on Friday, May 10th.

Relay for Life brings the community together to honor individuals who have fought bravely against the disease of cancer. It is an opportunity for survivors, their families and all those who have been affected by this disease come together to walk, run and camp out around the school track to create a united network of support and dedication.

Rob Fawcett, a cancer survivor, told his story of discovering that he had cancer.  After surgery to remove a cancerous mass followed by six months of chemotherapy, Fawcett says that, “right attitude and change of life style is very important.  Cancer does not mean life is over and you should live life to the fullest.  Treatments are getting better and so are the results.  The Stoneycreek centre in Collingwood was amazing. They administered massive doses of vitamin ‘C’ and other vitamins and I had none of the side effects of the chemo.”

The Relay began with the Survivor Lap, where survivors are honored by participants in support of their incredible fight.

       Survivors lap was lead by Rob Fawcett (2nd from L) and Eric Dunn and family (3rd from L)

The event was a four-hour long community celebration where individuals and teams enjoyed a BBQ, dancing, playing games and taking turns circling around the track “relay- style” to raise funds for cancer research and support programs.

Almost 100 hundred participants took part in the 2019 Relay and raised more than $21,000 in funds that will remain in the local area.

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Dr. Liang, a micro-biologist and former cancer researcher who now teaches math and science at SDSS, helped organize the event and told his own poignant story of losing several family members to cancer.

 

 

Students came out to honour grandparents and other relatives who died of cancer – (L) Anna Nicholson, Aly Boire with Theo, Riley Atkinson, Arlo, Natasha Jelly and Philly Baumburger with Lilo