Hundreds are expected to turn out tonight for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life at Freedom High School.
The event will take place on the football field at the school and kicks off at 6 p.m. with a survivor's lap, said Laura Harvey, who heads up Relay for Life events in Burke County.
The luminaria ceremony starts at 8 p.m. today and the events ends at 8 a.m. Saturday.
Entertainment will be the Alligators, Benton Blount, Days Off Screen, This Year's Promise and Ashley Hollar. Tumblemania also will perform and the Cypris Cruisers will be there with vintage cars, Harvey said.
Food will be available for donations and each team will have different things for children to do, Harvey said.
Harvey said so far, 554 participants are registered. Registration online is free but walk-up registration is $10, she said. Each team conducts fundraisers and proceeds go for things such as research and fighting for legislation, among other things, she said.
More than $22 million raised this year stays in North Carolina to help fund research, Harvey said.
Finding a cure for cancer is the ultimate goal of Relay for Life.
Cancer is something that has affected everyone in one way or another, said Tyson Rodriguez, chair of the Morganton Relay for Life event committee.
It certainly has affected her.
At just 34 years old, Rodriguez has fought cancer twice. She was first diagnosed with small intestinal cancer in 2004, which she fought with surgery and chemotherapy. At the time, Rodriguez and her husband, Ricky, had a 3-year-old daughter, Tori, and an 8-month-old son, Gabe.
Rodriguez was again diagnosed in the summer of 2007 with lung cancer.
"It had metastasized to my lungs," Rodriguez said. Again, she fought the lung cancer with surgery and chemotherapy.
Rodriguez, who is a teacher at W.A. Young Elementary School, said cancer changed her life and the way she lives it.
God, family and friends are now at the top of her priorities, she said.
"I live each day to the fullest and tell the people in my life how much I love them," Rodriguez said.
Cancer is a disease that everyone needs to fight, she said.
"We all have had loved ones who have fought cancer," Rodriguez said.
And Relay for Life gives Rodriguez a way to fight back against cancer, she said. It allows her to celebrate her successes, remember those who didn't survive the fight and remember her own battle with the disease.
The event also is just a time to have fun.
"It's a family-fun event," Rodriguez said. "You don't have to walk or run." She said folks can just come out and have fun.
As for Rodriguez's prognosis, she still has CAT scans and blood tests every three months but otherwise, is doing well, she said.
The Valdese Relay for Life is set to start at 6 p.m. on May 22 at the Old Rock School and football field, said Harvey. The event will feature a womanless beauty pageant in the auditorium of the Old Rock School. To see more of The News Herald or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.morganton.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The News Herald, Morganton, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2009, The News Herald, Morganton, N.C.