Relay for Life

Madison County – The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life for Madison and Iron counties will start on June 14 at the Azalea Park in Fredericktown, and will end the morning of the 15. The evening’s events are set up to symbolize the physical effects, emotions, and mental state a cancer patient faces.

The Relay for Life begins while the sun is setting. This symbolizes the time that people are diagnosed with cancer. The day is getting darker and this represents the cancer patients’ state of mind as they endure the emotions of facing this deadly disease. As the evening goes on, it gets colder and darker, just as the emotions of the patient do. Between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., represents the time the patient starts treatments, becoming exhausted, sick, with the thoughts of giving up crossing their mind. Participants in the Relay feel much the same way while walking during these hours, but they cannot give up or stop, just as the cancer patients keep fighting on.

The sun rising represents the end of treatment for cancer patients. They see the light at the end of the tunnel, and know that life will go on. Participants feel the brightness of the morning and know that the end of the Relay is close at hand. When they leave that morning, they think of the cancer patients leaving their last treatment, and feel the exhaustion and weakness that the patient does.

You can become a volunteer, a corporate sponsor, or you can purchase a $50 yard sign to be displayed the night of the event. There are other events/opportunities that will be announced closer to event time such as the purchase of luminaries. For more information, you can contact event Chairman April Sarakas at 573-747-6690. To become a corporate sponsor please contact Tim or Megan Harbison for Iron County Sponsorships at 573-631-8891, and Penny Gifford for Madison County Sponsorships at 573-783-3391.