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Community Corner

Kick Off for Spring Cancer Fundraiser Mixture of Joy and Tears

Relay for Life of Berkeley and Lacey set for May 19 and 20

About 100 cancer survivors, caregivers, families and friends joined together on Thursday night at Central Regional Middle School in Berkeley Township to start the push to set a new fundraising record for the 2012 American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.

Last year, 350 people participated in the Relay for Life of Berkeley and Lacey, raising more than $80,000. Currently, 18 teams with 83 people are signed up for the event, scheduled for May 19 and 20 at Veterans Park in Berkeley. 

Starting at noon on May 19, team members will camp out at the park for 24 hours, taking turns walking around a track, enjoying activities and raising money for cancer research, education, advocacy and patient services.

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Event Chair Roxanne Stephens, who lost her mother to cancer prior to the 2010 Relay for Life, said Disney was selected as this year's theme.

"Walt Disney often spoke of the power of a dream," she said. "He said, 'All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.' I think all of us in this room share in the dream of a world without cancer."

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In a ceremony filled with poignant moments, an "Empty Table" ceremony was held as the lights in the room went down and everyone was given a lighted candle to hold. The table had a white tablecloth with a single candle representing the hope for a cure. People were invited to come up and write on the tablecloth the name of someone they wanted to honor or write a message of love to them.

"Mom, you are missed, I love you," and "Grandma, you're always in my heart," typified the heartfelt messages written on the tablecloth throughout the night.

While some of the people at the kick off were there because they or a family member had beaten cancer or had lost a loved one, some were actively fighting the disease.

Lisa Gerber was just 35 years old and her sons were 5 and 1 in 2007 when was diagnosed with breast cancer. About 2-and-a-half years later, she received the news that her cancer was back and it had metastasized into her bones.

"I was no longer looking for a cure but looking for maintenance of the disease," said Gerber, whose Team Gerber was one of the top fundraisers in last year's Relay for Life. "I know what the statistics are and I know I'm not a statistic."

She said through her experience with cancer she found a new family, her Relay family, which has given her hope.

Gerber, along with 10-year-old Ana Kopack of Lanoka Harbor, who was diagnosed with cancer last March, cut the purple ribbon to officially kick off the Relay for Life season. 

Kopack's mother, Fran, said this is her family's first year participating in Relay for Life.

"I want to be part of it -- we're definitely going to be there," she said. "It was a beautiful moving event.  here are a lot of people here trying to find a cure, making a difference."

Teams and individuals can sign up for Relay for Life of Berkeley and Lacey at www.relayforlife.org.

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