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Whidbey Xtra! WEDNESDAY, May 27, 2015 | Vol. 1, No. 4 | WWW.WHIDBEYNEWSTIMES.COM | FREE
Community rallies for Relay for Life Friday By RON NEWBERRY Staff reporter
In two days, North Whidbey Middle School will become a center of hope, life and remembrance. The Oak Harbor school’s quiet track and field oval will be transformed into a bustling circle of activity featuring participants driven by a common goal. Whidbey Island’s annual Relay for Life event will take place May 29-30 and typically draws more than 1,000 participants and volunteers. Opening ceremonies are 6 p.m. Friday and the event continues overnight until closing ceremonies at noon Saturday. “Island of Hope” is the theme for the 2015 Relay for Life of Whidbey Island campaign. The event’s purpose is to raise money in the fight against cancer, support those battling the disease and remember those who have passed. The event involved 73 teams and 1,067 participants last year and raised $131,381. The goal this year is 81 teams and $160,000. As of May 11, 56 teams and 420 participants had raised nearly $50,000 so far. Aside from being a fun-
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draiser, Relay for Life also is designed to bring greater awareness to the disease in hopes more lives will be saved through early detection. Gordon Klatt, a colorectal surgeon from Tacoma, came up with the idea in 1985 when he walked and ran the track at the University of Puget Sound for 24 hours to raise money and bring such awareness. Klatt’s idea turned into a global phenomenon, which has led to nearly $5 billion raised toward cancer research. Despite his strong will, Klatt himself fell victim to cancer. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer two years ago and died in August from heart failure after a twoyear fight against cancer. The 2015 Relay for Life is dedicated to Klatt. The luminaria ceremony Friday night will be in his honor. The ceremony starts at 10 p.m. Although advances continue to be made, particularly in extending survival rates, cancer remains the seconddeadliest disease in the United States behind heart disease, with some experts expecting it to elevate to No. 1 in the coming years.
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Relay for Life of Whidbey Island is not only a chance to raise money in the fight against cancer, but also to support those who are battling cancer and to remember those who lost their fight. The American Cancer Society predicts more than 1.5 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in 2015 in this country and 589,000 Americans are expected to die from the disease this year, or about 1,600 per day. Still, these numbers are an improvement over past years. A recent American Cancer Society report shows there has been a 22 percent drop in cancer deaths in the U.S. over the past two
decades, which translates to about 1.5 million lives saved. Although the event is full of emotion, it also is designed to inspire and entertain and includes a “Mr. Relay Competition” that features participants in eye-opening outfits. That competition starts at 7:30 Friday night. Other entertainment will come from cancer survivor, singer and songwriter Anthony Hale of Seattle, ukulele player and singer Dave
Madeiros of Oak Harbor and the Penn Cove Pachers, a blue grass musical group. Among those scheduled to speak at the event are April and Joe Stach of Oak Harbor and Renato DePaolis, a cancer survivor and flight officer from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. For more information, go to www.relay.acsevents.org and type “Whidbey” into the search.
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HELP FIGHT FOR A CURE Friday, May 29, 2015 Relay begins at 6 p.m. North Whidbey Middle School
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