Relay for Life gets record haul
By Cindy Yurth
Tséyi' Bureau
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(Times photos - Donovan Quintero)
Breast cancer survivor Jeannie Cecil, right, and childhood friend Shirlene McCraith, both from Rock Springs, N.M., participate in the 9th Annual Relay For Life at the Gallup Sports Complex. Cecil is a cancer survivor of 3 years.
Betty Holyan of Coyote Canyon, N.M., gently removes her late mother Annie Mae Holyan's photo from a luminaria early Saturday morning during the 9th Annual Relay For Life event at the Gallup Sports Complex. Holyan passed away last year from cancer.
Gallup's annual Relay for Life last weekend fell about $1,300 short of its goal of $80,000, but still raked in more money than ever.
This is quite an accomplishment in this economy, noted Beverly Crowe, chair of the local Cancer Survivors' Committee of the American Cancer Society.
In fact, it may yet meet that goal for its donation to cancer society.
"There's always money that trickles in after the event," Crowe said. "I wouldn't be surprised if we reach $80,000."
Twenty-six teams participated in an overnight run-walk after having collected sponsorships for months.
Navajos, as always, were prominent in the event.
"Cancer is the most non-discriminatory disease there is, so we have a very diverse survivor base," Crowe said.
She estimated that a third of her team was Diné.
Diné traditional practitioner Virgil Gatewood blessed the event, and Alvin Bitsuie provided music on the flute.
"I always love to see the Navajos there," Crowe said. "Their spirituality is different from mine, but it helps to have a strong spiritual foundation if you're going to fight this disease."
Crowe was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999 and had a mastectomy.
She's been cancer-free since then, but "once you've had cancer, you're kind of like on parole," she explained. "You never know when your parole's up, and you're back to the sentence."
The survivor's group helps run events like the relay, mans the resource room at the local cancer center, and keeps a mailing list to distribute information about new treatments, among other duties.
Upcoming events include a dinner in August and a "Survivor Celebration" in October.
"As survivors, we want to support those who are going through that same battle, but we also want to make sure fewer people have to fight that battle," Crowe explained.
She said she'd like to thank all the relay's participants and sponsors.
"It's not a two-, three- or four-person committee that puts on an event like this," she said. "It takes a whole lot of people."
If you'd like to help the relay reach its goal of $80,000, send a check made out to the American Cancer Society to Beverly Crowe, 16 Tumbleweed Lane, Gamerco, NM 87317.
Those interested in getting on the survivor group's mailing list may write to her.