SU's Relay for Life raises $85,000, honors cancer survivors

Relay for Life kicked off at 6 p.m. on Saturday and did not end until 6 a.m. the following day. A lot of people from the Syracuse community came out to the Carrier Dome to support the event that aims to find a cure for cancer.

Although cancer is nothing to joke about, Relay for Life was mostly fun and games. Entertainment lasted throughout the night from multiple Syracuse University groups. Some of these performances included; The First Year Players who did a performance from "The Addams family," the Dance Cat NY who got the whole crowd dancing, the Ottotunes and the Syracuse Mandarins both gave beautiful a cappella renditions of popular songs. This is only to name a few as the night was filled with great performances.

Though the event was kept light most of the night, survivors' speeches made everyone remember why he or she was actually there. Katherine Frega started off the night by explaining why she was so grateful for events like this and how grateful she was for everything she had in life, even when she was battling for 3 years with cancer in high school. Later, Heather Buchan, a two-time cancer survivor, spoke of her battle. Her story was filled with the tragedies that cancer patients go through but also of all the little miracles. One of those miracles included her sister having almost the exact bone marrow as her. Both survivors spoke of how events like Relay for Life change the lives of cancer patients.

The event included booths where people could sign up to be a bone marrow donor and donate their hair in order to make wigs for people who have lost their hair. The most memorable part of the entire night was the lap walked for people who lost the battle against cancer.

This is what I found the most hopeful part of the entire night. While walking, I watched groups of friends support those who had lost a loved one from cancer. A whole group of people would silently and patiently comfort their friend, and it was truly beautiful.

All in all, Relay for Life was extremely successful. It raised about $85,000 to help find a cure for cancer. With this money more and more advancements can be made to end this horrible disease.