"Why do you Relay?" You may be surprised at how infrequently we, the Co-Chairs of Tufts Relay For Life, are asked this question. We Relay because we know cancer too well. In fact, all of Tufts knows cancer far too well. Whether you have watched a loved one struggle against cancer or simply been moved by the story of an acquaintance battling this disease, cancer has affected all of our lives in one very real way or another.
In Maggie's case, cancer announced its looming presence when she was seven:
"One night, my family was sitting down to eat cheeseburgers, my favorite meal as a kid, when my parents received a phone call. My mom was told that the headaches she had been suffering from were caused by medulloblastoma, an incredibly aggressive type of brain tumor. Stage IV cancer had spread throughout her brain and spinal cord.
My mom underwent surgery and began intense rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. Within weeks, my mom was a gaunt, 5'11", 95 pound version of the once lively woman who had raised me. My mom, who was an accountant, was no longer able to do basic arithmetic such as 10 times 10. One night, I woke up to the sound of my mom screaming, sobbing and yelling 'I'm going to die.' I stayed huddled in bed until my dad brought me to my sister's room, which was further away from theirs. In the morning, my mom was back in the hospital.
After almost a year of aggressive treatment and frequent hospitalization, my mom made an amazing recovery. To this day, the doctors refer to her as a miracle. I know how lucky I am to have this incredible woman in my life.
However, cancer didn't leave the people I love alone. My mom supported her mom through two rounds of breast cancer and held her younger sister's hand when she passed away from leukemia; she was 39, the same age my mom was when she had been diagnosed with cancer."
The ugly truth is that cancer is out there and it does not discriminate; in their lifetimes, one in every two men and one in every three women will be diagnosed with cancer. Though these statistics may sound overwhelming and intimidating, we tell you this in hopes of inspiring you. We hope that we can change these statistics. Because through the pain and heartbreak of cancer, we have also witnessed hope -- hope that the human spirit can prevail through the toughest of fights and hope that our loved ones who did not prevail will never be forgotten.
So, why do we Relay? We Relay to unite the Tufts community, so that together we can celebrate the triumph of survivors and remember our loved ones who were lost too soon. We Relay to fight back against cancer, to show the same resilience that we have seen in survivors. We Relay to tip the statistics back in our favor, so that the future can have more birthdays. We Relay because we have hope. So come on Tufts, have some hope. We invite you to take a stand with us and finish the fight against cancer.
Relay For Life will take place this Friday night from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in Gantcher Center. Relay is overnight to symbolize a cancer patient's journey through the original darkness of a diagnosis to the promising light of recovery. During the night, we will hear from an inspiring cancer survivor as well as someone currently undergoing treatment. Please join us for a powerful and inspiring night.
For more information, or to sign up, please visit relayforlife.org/tufts or email tuftsrelay@gmail.com
Maggie Nazarenus is a senior who is majoring in Chinese. She may be reached at Margaret.Nazarenus@tufts.edu. Jon Duval is a senior who is majoring in architectural studies. He may be reached at Jonathan.Duval@tufts.edu Caroline Kaufman is a senior who is majoring in international relations. She may be reached at Caroline.Kaufman@tufts.edu
