| Teams rally in fight against cancer |
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| Wednesday, 01 July 2009 | ||
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Union Editor Twenty-seven teams gathered at the Anoka County Fairgrounds Friday to fight back against cancer. The Anoka Area Relay for Life, a 12-hour walking relay paired with a fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society, brought together nearly 300 people on June 26.
Chairwoman Renee Miller got involved with Relay for Life, in its 25th year nationally, six years ago after her own diagnosis with colon cancer. Like many who walk in the relay, she found it a good fit to celebrate her winning fight against the disease while working to make sure more people are able to survive a cancer diagnosis. She said fighting back is the real reason why people gather to walk in the 12-hour relay. “That’s really what we’re all about here,” said Miller. “We’re in for a long night of fighting back and joining together as a community.” Money raised at the relay is used for cancer research and support for patients. Among these initiatives funded by relays across the state last year were 4,700 rides to treatment provided to Minnesota cancer patients, $7 million allocated to scientists in Minnesota to perform 15 different cancer research studies and 1,020 cancer patients received basic medical equipment such as hospital beds, wheelchairs and walkers for at home care. Dylan Witschen, an Anoka High School 10th-grader, served as the relay’s honorary chairperson. Witschen’s own cancer diagnosis made news when doctors discovered a brain tumor while doing a scan after he took a hard hit at a Tornado’s football practice. Dylan, along with his parents and sister, led the survivor’s lap kicking off 2009 relay. Many families came together to walk in memory or support of a loved one with cancer, including the relatives of Audrey Brahs, of Anoka, who passed away last August after a 14-month battle with cancer. According to her husband Manley Brahs, her colon cancer was stage IV before it was diagnosed. When he recently told his daughter Pam Hansen he was going to stop by the relay this year, she said she would join him. What Brahs didn’t know was there would be 19 members of the family who would show up to walk in memory of Audrey, all wearing matching T-shirts printed with her photo. Next year, he said, even more family members plan to join in the relay. Mandy Moran Froemming is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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