Relay for Life Kicks Off at Shiawassee Park

Sondra Johnson's mother, Helen, died of breast cancer in 1985.

Pat Donoghue's husband, Greg, is an 18-month survivor of colo-rectal cancer.

Paul Gross is a 12-year survivor of testicular cancer.

Dick Jaeger survived cancer – twice.

Everyone at today's American Cancer Society (ACS) Relay for Life in Farmington's had a different reason for being there, but they all had one thing in common: Their lives have been touched by cancer.

Jaeger didn't become involved with the American Cancer Society's annual fundraiser 10 years ago because of his own bouts with cancer. He is a 13-year survivor of bladder cancer, and 10 years ago, was among the .01 percent of the male population with breast cancer.

"I got involved not because I was a cancer survivor, but because a very close friend of mine had a 20-year-old son in college who came down with Ewing's sarcoma (a form of bone cancer)," Jaeger said. While other young men his age were waiting to turn 21, Matthew Lash was undergoing heavy doses of chemotherapy and, ultimately, the amputation of his leg.

"He not only graduated a year behind his class at Michigan State University," Jaeger said, "but he went on to graduate from law school. He actually climbed a mountain with a prosthetic leg."

Lash, whose family is from Farmington Hills, died in 2008, at the age of 27. But before his death, he convinced his family and friends to put together a Relay for Life team. He walked with them the first year, having just beaten his younger brother in a game of golf, Jaeger recalled.

"He was a very, very special young man," Jaeger said. "He was put on this earth to teach us how to love and how to fight."

ACS liaison Felicia McMullen said over 300 people registered to walk from 10 a.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday. "We'll probably have close to 400 after today," she added. This year, local cancer survivors raised almost $200 for the event. "It's unusual that you have that happen."

Survivor Barbie Weisserman said she celebrates two birthdays – one on the actual date of her birth, and the other on Aug. 16, the day she was cancer-free.

"Not everyone gets to celebrate two birthdays," she said, urging survivors to do something special on their "second" birthdays. "I go out and I give lottery tickets to random people."

Weisserman also drives a pink car, to let others know that she's cancer-free and fighting cancer.

"When you're done here, don't stop walking," she said. "Change the real world ...  until we can make it cancer-free."

McMullen said last year's local Relay for Life raised $74,000; this year's event is on track to raise $78,000. In addition to funds raised during the event, each team sets up a tent where they're selling everything from burritos to books, to add more dollars for the cause.

Earth Angels dance group will perform at 5 p.m. tonight, and Classic Stardust Swing Band has donated a two-and-a-half hour performance as well. Around 9:30 p.m., a special luminaria ceremony will honor those who lost their lives to cancer.

McMullen said the organizing committee, headed up by sisters Pilar Hagey and Tania DeSostoa McCue, has planned a number of activities to help get teams through the long hours after dark. "Night-time offers a lot of time for reflection," she said.

On Sunday morning, Elks Lodge #1986 will host a pancake breakfast, donating 100 percent of the proceeds to Relay for Life. Cost is a $4 minimum donation; it's open to the public from 8 a.m.-10 a.m.

Organizers encourage the public to visit the site, cheer on the walkers and contribute to the cause.