[A] Cumbrian cancer survivor is organising an overnight fundraiser.
Liz Harrison from Appleby, along with fellow survivor Pat Holden, will be holding Cancer Research UK’s Relay for Life event in Carlisle on September 8 and 9.
Liz was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2010. She was successfully treated at the Lancaster Royal Infirmary, where she underwent surgery followed by chemotherapy.
She is now busy recruiting teams to take part in the Carlisle and Eden Valley Relay For Life at Sheepmount Athletics Stadium in Carlisle, which will run from 11am on Saturday 8 to 11am on Sunday 9 September.
The Relay will see team members take it in turns to walk round a track while everyone else enjoys a wide range of fun activities on offer. As Relay For Life is non-stop through the night, those team members not on the track can take turns to rest, eat, or sleep in their tents which are set up close by.
As dusk falls, the atmosphere quietens as the Candle of Hope ceremony begins. The event is the most poignant part of Relay For Life when specially made Candle of Hope bags – decorated with touching messages in memory or in celebration of loved ones – are filled with sand and lit up with candles around the pitch.
Liz, who is the volunteer Chairman of Relay For Life in Carlisle, said: “Cancer Research UK’s Relay For Life is about being part of a community united in the belief that together we are a stronger than cancer and we can make a stand against the disease.
“It is a unique event with a celebratory atmosphere and everyone who joins in will take away something special.”
Liz, said: “I am so thankful to have beaten cancer and I wanted to give something back, so when my friend, Pat, asked me to join with her to organise the event in Carlisle, I jumped at the opportunity. I know how important it is to help raise money for Cancer Research UK to bring forward the day when all cancers can be cured.”
Liz is now urging the people of Carlisle to enter Relay For Life and raise money to fund the work of thousands of scientists, doctors and nurses who are dedicated to saving more lives by preventing, controlling and curing all cancers.
People can form teams of between eight to 15 people, of all ages, levels of fitness and from all walks of life are needed to take part in the event. Cancer survivors from Carlisle are also being urged to come forward to join the opening “Survivors Lap” of honour which kicks off the two-day event.
Thanks to Cancer Research UK’s work, more people are surviving cancer than ever before. Survival rates have doubled over the last 40 years and the charity’s work has been at the heart of that progress.
But despite improvements in treatment, cancer causes more than one in four of all deaths in the UK. Cancer Research UK wants to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured and needs the help of people in Carlisle to help save many more lives.
For more information about Relay For Life visit cruk.org/relay.
