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By Cindy Ellis
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 Zorro the cat (on couch) gets the ride of his life around the Pullman High School track during the 2001 Relay for Life |
The "C" word - that ominous word that strikes fear into the hearts of even the lionhearted! Merriam-Webster defines cancer as: Even without a formal definition, the word alone can bring the strongest person directly to their knees and leave them reeling. The American Cancer Society (ACS) has been around since 1913 helping cancer patients, doctors, families, researchers, and survivors. Education and prevention are two primary goals - both then and now. In 1947, ACS began using their well-known "Cancer's Danger Signals" that are remembered by most adults today. The ACS website (http://www.cancer.org) is full of history, information, discussion groups, news, and ways to get involved. One meaningful and fun way to get involved is the upcoming "Relay for Life". Vicki Croft, Animal Health Library, has been involved with "Relay for Life" event for the past three years. Her husband, Jim, had been diagnosed with lung cancer. A family friend saw a Relay for Life brochure and brought it to her attention. Initially, it was a way to help fight her husband's cancer, but it turned into an exciting and fun annual event that also celebrates his fight, his life, his courage, and his continued hope for himself and many, many others like him. Vicki and Jim formed a Relay for Life team and came up with "Zorro's Avengers Against Cancer" as their team name. Zorro is the cat that Jim credits with helping him through his fight with lung cancer. Zorro and Jim are the team mascots. Team members wear black masks, whiskers, and a large Z on the backs of their T-shirts. This team of avengers makes the event a fun, exciting and worthwhile event. Zorro's Avengers for 2002 consists of many familiar names: Vicki Croft (Health Science Library) and Cinda Rosen (pre-vet student) acting as co-captains; Cindy Ellis (Libraries Systems), Emma Giden (HSL student employee), Jen Stevens (RWA), Lorena O'English (Library Instruction), Zinthia Briceno (HSL student employee), Betty Staples (former WSU employee, now happily retired), Jennifer Taylor (HSL student employee), Lanica Welch (pre-vet student), Lavon Berg (spouse of a cancer survivor & vet school employee), and Bea Taylor (WSU employee). The Relay is filled with many memorable events. One from 2001 involved a local fraternity raising money by pushing a sofa around the track for donations. When they approached the Avengers team area, Jim asked them if they would give Zorro a ride. They quickly agreed, and what a sight to see! The other fraternity members laughed and pointed - truly enjoying the fact that they were giving a cat a ride around the track. Zorro sat on the sofa for his entire lap without moving so much as a whisker! (See Photo) This year's local Relay for Life will be held at the Pullman High School Track on Friday, September 27th beginning at 7:00 p.m. and continues through Saturday, September 28th at noon. The events include a Survivors' Walk on Friday evening and the lighting of the luminaries at dark (about 9:00 p.m). Throughout the evening, all night, and into Saturday morning - team members walk laps around the track. One team member must be on the track at all times. Team members raise money for the American Cancer Society prior to the walk and some continue to raise money during the event. Zorro's Avengers plan on selling hot soup at the event to give their donation cache a boost. They have raised about $1,700 over the past two years and hope to add a sizeable amount to this total in 2002. Zorro's Avengers are also planning on having educational material available at the walk about how pets can help cancer patients survive, as well as information on cancer in pets. (There is also lots of information in the Animal Health Library on cancer in animals and humans.) Where does the money go? All donations go directly to the American Cancer Society to help in the fight for better prevention, better treatments, more research, and more survivors. A cure for cancer in our lifetime would be a wonderful legacy to leave for our children and grandchildren. Washington State University currently has 2 American Cancer Society grants worth $495,000. Some of the WSU money goes to fund new investigators - 2 per year, $20,000 each! In the Northwest Division (WA, OR, MT, and AK), there are 42 grants worth nearly $10 million (for cancer research and researchers). This region is definitely fighting hard to find a cause and cure for many forms of cancer. How can you help? You can: 1) give a donation to any of the team members (any amount is appreciated and it is tax deductible), 2) buy a luminary in honor of a cancer survivor or in memory of a loved one lost to cancer ($10 each), 3) come out to the track on the 27th and 28th to show support for our own Zorro's Avengers Against Cancer and the fight to find a cure. If you are a cancer survivor, please contact Vicki so she can get you involved in the Survivors' Walk. This is an extremely important part of the event. Survivors give strength and courage to those who are fighting a cancer battle right now. Be someone's hero! Also, we'd like to start organizing for next year now. We would love to see TWO Relay for Life teams formed in the Libraries and create a challenge to see which one can raise the most money. If you are interested in walking next year, participating in the Survivors' Walk this year, or getting involved at any time, please contact Vicki at croft@wsu.edu. |
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