Relay For Life - How Communities Are Joining the Fight Against Cancer

Seeing the community spirit at Relay for Life really can send shivers down your spine. Communities all over Australia are coming together to fight cancer. It’s the epitome of inclusiveness, with so many people from all walks of life banding together in their fight against cancer.

Who Can Get Involved?

Relay for life is a cause anyone can get involved with, and unlike other fun runs it is designed for lower end of the fitness curve. The relay component means that you work as a team, tagging in and out throughout the event, to have a continual presence at the relay.

For that reason, you will feel a huge community spirit at these events. There will be young children running around helping out, families, community groups and small businesses of all shapes and sizes working together to build awareness and spread hope to one another. As well as the fundraising of course, which teams can do at any point across the year.

You will always find a fair proportion of survivors participating in the Relay for Life event as a way to give back to their network and also give back to Cancer Council for the support they provide them and their families over a tremendously hard period in their lives.

Who Does Relay for Life Benefit?

We are all likely to know or have known someone in our community who have been unfortunate enough to have had cancer. These people make a huge impact on their loved ones and people close to them. Therefore, a lot of Relay for Lifers are literally that; pledging their support to raise awareness and money every year to move the needle that little bit closer to finding a cure for cancer.

Take Rob, who’s ultrasound revealed he had testicular cancer that had worked its way up to his abdomen, and then into the lymph glands in his neck. Since his recovery he has been committed to joining the communities at Relay for Life for over 13 years.

Why Relay for Life?

The event itself has been developed to as a way to show the determination people of all walks of life have to fight cancer and hopefully one day find a cure. Cancer is something none of us can predict or even control but through fundraising it gives communities a way to fight back and create action. And action ultimately creates change. Relay for life signifies collective action against cancer, for those who can’t fight against it alone.

Even more importantly than fundraising is the support these communities provide one another. Cancer is a disease that when identified or brought up stops people in their tracks. But the people experiencing cancer and the people close to them know that the journey is a constant uphill battle. Relay for life depicts that constant battle in a figurative sense and the need for help and support from others. Which is why we believe Relay for Life is attracts so many communities.

If you are struggling with cancer personally or have a friend or family member that is, there are a lot of services and support networks available to help you in your fight against cancer. Cancer Council who created and runs Relay for Life is one of the organisations who have networks of services available to people of all backgrounds and locations. As well as services available for specific cancer types. The best way to find your local Cancer Council is to head to https://www.cancer.org.au/ and use their ‘find your local Cancer Council’ tool to locate services in your area.