25 years of hope

One person can make a difference. Perhaps no one embodies that statement better than Dr. Gordon Klatt. In 1985, Klatt, a colorectal surgeon in Tacoma, wanted to raise funds for the local chapter of the American Cancer Society. An avid runner who enjoyed participating in marathons, Klatt decided to circle the track at Baker Stadium on the campus of the University of Puget Sound for 24 hours. The effort was called the City of Destiny Classic 24-Hour Run Against Cancer.

It was a grueling endeavor, with Klatt running or walking more than 83 miles. Friends and colleagues donated $25 for each 30 minutes they accompanied him on the track. About 300 of his friends, relatives and patients cheered him on in the stands. That event raised $27,000 for cancer research.

While he circled the track those 24 hours, he thought about how others could take part. He envisioned a 24-hour team-relay event that could raise more money to fight cancer. Months later, he pulled together a small committee to plan the first team-relay event known as the City of Destiny Classic 24-Hour Run Against Cancer.

Klatt envisioned an event that would bring together teams of people who would take turns circling a track for 24 hours. This ended up becoming Relay For Life, an event that is held in around 5,000 cities in the United States and another 1,000 cities in 19 countries.

Tacoma will hold its Relay for Life on June 12-13 at Mount Tahoma High School. While this is always an important event, the 25th anniversary will be especially memorable.

People from around the country will travel to Tacoma to mark the occasion. One of them is Jemma Cabral, a cancer survivor from Illinois. She is traveling to 25 of the fundraisers around the country in a quest to raise money to fight the disease.

An active volunteer for American Cancer Society in her home state, Cabral has survived two bouts of Hodgkins lymphoma. She was diagnosed on July 24, 2002, her father’s birthday. In remission since 2004, Cabral benefitted from a stem cell transplant in which she was both donor and recipient. The procedure was performed on her oncologist’s birthday. Her situation makes her relate well with the organization’s new campaign slogan, “The Official Sponsor of Birthdays.”

Cabral is taking a leave of absence from her job to travel around the country, including a stop to where Relay For Life began.

Cancer affects people of all backgrounds and ages. Local resident Dylan Walsh, 8, was diagnosed with Burkitts lymphoma in 2002. His grandmother, Joyce Walsh, was inspired that year by Klatt discussing how the cure rate for childhood cancer had gone up dramatically. Eleven years before Dylan’s birth, the survival rate for children battling this form of cancer was 5 percent. By 2002, it had increased to 75 percent, proof that the research that Relay For Life funds has real results that save lives.

Dylan’s father, Matt, formed a Relay for Life team called, “Friends and Family of Soundview Mortgage.” It is one of the top fundraising teams each year.

Cabral and Dylan’s family will join more than 160 teams participating in Tacoma this year.

Relay For Life has grown to become the largest fundraising event for a health-related cause in the United States. In 25 years it has raised in excess of $3 billion for important research, educational campaigns and prevention efforts.

We salute the vision of Dr. Klatt, the courage of cancer survivors and the many people and organizations that have made Relay For Life the amazing success story it has become.

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