15th annual Relay held this weekend

By Diane Graff of the Daily Times staff
Friday, August 8, 2008 11:01 PM CDT

Cancer survivors, caregivers, family members and friends take part in the 15th annual Relay For Life in Watertown event at Watertown High School Friday. The annual fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society draws walkers to the school track to participate in a 20-hour, overnight procession. At top, Danika Heiser, left, and Amber Bathke light luminaries placed in remembrance of a patient afflicted with the disease. (JOHN HART/Daily Times)

Swim for a Cure, Let's Bowl Down Cancer and Tour for the Cure were just some of the slogans teams displayed Friday night to fight cancer at the 15th annual Relay For Life in Watertown.

This year's theme is “Sports: Team Up For a Cure.”

The overall theme of the American Cancer Society is Celebrate, Remember and Fight Back, according to Alex Heitman who spoke during the opening ceremonies.

“All of us have a reason to be here,” he said about the annual event held at the Watertown High School track Friday night. The relay continues until noon today. “We need to fight back.”

One in three people will get cancer during their lifetime, Heitman told the group of 72 survivors and about 100 caregivers, family members and friends. Eleven million people in the United States have cancer or survived the disease, he said. Each year 2.5 million people are diagnosed with cancer of which 70 percent survive, he said.

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In the past 15 years, the Relay For Life in Watertown has raised $1.4 million for the American Cancer Society, Heitman said. Of those funds, 92 percent goes directly to society programs, such as Road to Recovery, Reach to Recovery and Quit Line to help people stop smoking.

About $100 million is spent on cancer research each year.

The American Cancer Society dedicates more money to cancer research than any other private, not-for-profit, nongovernment funded cancer research program in the country, Heitman said.

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is a unique fund-raising event. Participants of the team-based event camp out overnight and take turns walking laps around the track in honor of all those who have battled cancer. At 9 p.m., participants lit hundreds of luminaries around the track in a ceremony to honor cancer survivors, as well as to remember friends and family members lost to the disease.

This year 43 teams from the Watertown area hope to raise $110,000.

The participants get pledges and create teams of up to 15 people. One person from each team walks on the track during the length of the event.

Closing ceremonies, or fight back ceremonies are set for 11 a.m. today with the close set for noon, according to co-chairwoman Cathie Wallen. The fight back ceremony will include a visit by Army recruiters and an original song.

Wallen said she was pleased with the turnout during the opening ceremonies and the events planned for the evening.

“Keep smiling and don't ever lose your humor,” honorary survivor Jerry Arndt told the participants.

Arndt is also a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3709 which provided the color guard for the event and led the survivor lap. Arndt said he is a survivor of the Korean Conflict and of cancer.

“One of these days we are going to beat cancer,” Arndt said.

Arndt said he was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1994. He remarked how cancer cures have improved since that time. “We have survived a lot,” he said.

Arndt, a member of the Ace Hardware team, noted the sports team selected for his group is Brewers baseball. He noted the theme is about team and how the whole team is needed to beat cancer.

Arndt said he has been cancer-free for 14 years. He said he has faith in research and chemotherapy, faith in doctors, faith in God and “the biggest thing that helped me through cancer was my wife of 53 years.”

Arndt called on his friend Harriet Brady to stand by his side while he addressed the crowd. He recalled how his friend also fought colon cancer and then liver cancer before learning her cancer was gone. He also recalled a co-worker who died from cancer.

“Don't ever give up. We can beat it,” he said of the disease.

Shirley Sackmann of Wausau said she was at the track at 1 p.m. Friday setting up a camp site for the Tom Smith family and friends team. “My sister told me about the event,” she said. It was her first time attending and relay and planned to stay through the night. Her brother-in-law is fighting the disease, she said. “I am making a whole weekend out of it,” she said as she walked around the track.

A tradition, is what Wilke Electric team member Jeff Ertl said about the relay. It is the fourth year he has participated in the event. “I like the solitude of the event,” he said. “As I get older, cancer becomes more apparent in my life,” he added. “Cancer strikes close to home.”

Cathy Ihde of Watertown said she lost a close co-worker to cancer this year and another co-worker is fighting cancer. “The desire was there to see what I could do,” Ihde, a member of the Watertown Moravian Church team said. She attended the relay last year and decided to participate this year.

Linda Goehl of Watertown said her daughter got her involved in the fund-raising event. “It is a good thing to do,” she said.