Bend walkers ‘relaying’ all night to cure cancer

A cure for cancer was the goal of Saturday’s Relay for Life event in Bend, continuing through Tuesday morning. More than 100 cancer survivors and their caregivers walked alongside 46 Relay for Life teams, who just want the words “you have cancer” to never be heard again.

Relay for Life has been taking place in Central Oregon for more than 20 years. The event raises funds to support local cancer patients and their families with things like transportation, clothing and most importantly, support.

Pat Stone and her son, Matthew, are two people the local organization has helped. Both Matthew and his mom took on cancer and won, with the support of family and Relay for Life.

“Being a survivor is for a chosen few of us,” said Pat. “Because we do lose people to cancer.”

Matthew had a more intensive cancer treatment than his mother, and it took him over three years to beat his form of leukemia. Matthew documented the battle with beads, a long string which was shown to the crowd of hundreds before the walk began.

“The bead system is something Doernbecher Hospital (in Portland) has for you to kind of document what the treatment was like,” said Pat.

“Every color represents a different drug, and some of them he got through his port, some of them through a spinal tap and some of them were oral medication.” she said. “But it’s what it takes to get a boy through acute lymphocytic leukemia.”

Cecilia Hermann was another cancer survivor who attended Saturday’s event. She is 94 years old, and the longest cancer survivor in the group. It has been 44 years since she won her battle with breast cancer.

“I discovered it, and I went to the doctor right away,” said Hermann. “That’s very important — it was caught very early, so I was cured very early. I had surgery, and that was it.”

Matthew, Pat and Cecilia said they would not be here today without their caregivers, who were shown appreciation during the event on Saturday with green T-shirts.

Saturday night, a candlelight memorial was to be held around the track at the High Desert Middle School. Every lit bag that lines the track will honor someone lost to cancer, and remind everyone why finding a cure is so important.

If you were unable to make Saturday’s event, and would like to donate to Relay for Life you can do so at www.relayforlife.org.