Staff Sgt. Kurt Lozinski, commander of the Osoyoos-Oliver RCMP detachment, leads a group of cancer survivors to kick off the fifth annual Canadian Cancer Society Relay for Life at Desert Park on June 20. Photo by Paul Everest
OSOYOOS TIMES-June 24, 2009
By Paul Everest – Osoyoos Times
It was a celebration of coming together as a community for a common fight and there were just as many broad smiles and laughs as there were tears.
Hundreds of friends, family members and residents of the South Okanagan gathered at Desert Park under a sunset-stained sky at Desert Park on June 20 to participate in the fifth annual Canadian Cancer Society Relay for Life.
With Olympics-inspired names such as Go for the Gold Hooters and the VANOC Drug Busters, 29 teams strolled across a fresh-cut-grass track on the park’s infield to celebrate those who have survived the clutches of cancer; to remember loved ones no longer with us and to fight back against the disease.
Flanked by a dedicated team of organizers and volunteers, relay coordinator Audrey McCulloch welcomed participants to the event.
And before a single footstep was taken, Coun. Margaret Chadsey reminded a crowd of survivors adorned in yellow T-shirts about to kick off the relay about one of Osoyoos’s youngest survivors, Domenic Cacchioni.
Diagnosed five months ago with acute lymphoid leukemia, two-year-old Domenic has been undergoing treatment in Vancouver and Chadsey said doctors are now aiming for a 95 to 98-per-cent cure rate for the boy in five years.
She said $10,000 has been raised for Domenic in the community and his family is grateful.
Finally, Chadsey said Domenic looks forward to doing a survivor lap next year when he is three years old and she asked participants to take three things with them around the track in relation to Domenic’s struggle: the benefits of early detection thanks to his parents, the treatment available for him and the determination and fight of his family and the community.
After Mayor Stu Wells acknowledged the scores of volunteers who made the relay a reality, the platoon of survivors, who one man said represents “hundreds of years of life,” took to the track following in the footsteps of Staff Sgt. Kurt Lozinski of the Osoyoos RCMP while Sister Sledge’s “We are Family” blared over loudspeakers.
One of those taking part in the survivor’s lap was Trevor Johnson, 16, who is now completely cured after being diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a type of cancer that can grow over bone, last April.
When asked what he felt as he completed the survivor’s lap, Trevor said he was amazed at “seeing how many other people have made it through it” and “how much the community comes together.”
He added that when he thinks back to where he was a year ago at this time, it feels like a completely different life.
“You just realize it’s like night and day to be back with all your friends.”
After the first lap, the yellow shirts gave way to white shirts as teams and individuals took turns maintaining a presence on the RV-encircled track for the 12-hour relay.
Joan Avila of Oliver walked with her daughter Jenny and carried a photograph of her dad, Buck Dale, who lost his battle with cancer 10 years ago.
“I’m doing it to remember my father,” Joan said as she struggled with tears. “The thing that’s in my mind is that my dad’s not here walking to see all this.”
Joan came to the relay with a church group to pray with others who have been affected by the disease.
“To see people come out like this gives you hope that someone else’s dad won’t die and maybe someone else’s kid will grow up to be an old man,” she said.
As sunlight drained away and the cool scent of moist grass filled the air, a seemingly never-ending chain of tiny lights encircling the relay’s course were lit as if to guide walkers through the darkness.
More than 420 luminaries were lit in remembrance of someone who has passed away or in honour of someone battling the disease.
As the last of the lights was ignited, relay organizer Pat Lewis invited participants to gather before a stage.
“As these luminaries glow through the night, they represent our shared vision for a cancer-free future,” she said.
Eileen Varga, with her daughter Alison at her side, then lit a luminary for Alex Varga, a volunteer Osoyoos firefighter who died of colon cancer last year.
After a moment of silence, Eileen and Alison lead a “silent lap” around the track.
In the end, more than $60,000 was raised for the battle against cancer through the relay.
But as important as the cash is for cancer research and education, it’s likely those who walked side by side under the stars at Desert Park from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. won’t remember how much money was donated as much as they’ll remember that a community came together in unison to show a disease they will never stop fighting.
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