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This year, I embark on an exciting, albeit overwhelming adventure; and. that is to chair the North Durham Relay For Life planning committee. Ultimately, Relay For Life is nothing short of a life saving venture. Eve step taken by participants and every dollar raised translates into one thing goal is to eradicate cancer. Rel For Life makes so much possible for people living with cancer, from drives to treatment, peer support programs, education and advocacy and of course life-saving research. Aside from all of that, Relay For Life is simply a whole lot of fun! changed and that it was nothing short of amazing. It is truly awesome to wit- ness a sea of yellow shirted survivors take to the track for their victory lap, their victory over cancer. It is even more magical to witness our deeply moving luminary cer- emony; the track lined with candle-lit and that thing is life. The Canadian Cancer Society’s “I was given a zero chance of survival within five years - | guess cancer messed with the wrong girl” Tammy Maclsaac-Horvath (five year survivor of cancer) to runas fast as they can away { from it all, not wanting to talk P give it one more minute of their lives. Some get stuck in the mud of despair and some sail through. There is no one way to cope with cancer, there is no magic pill or mantra to make it go away or get better. It’s an experience where you learn how difficult it is to trust others with your life; where you are forced to embrace powerlessness and uncertainty and where you strive to some- how find hope. Cancer is a journey, a going up Mt.Everest backwards in a snowstorm kind of journey, with no guarantee you'll ever get to the top, no matter how hard you try. But, by virtue of that fact, we are survivors, ‘we are strong, we are hope. We as a community don’t talk enough about survivorship; survivor- ship is something one must claim upon their diagnosis. To be a survivor is to embody hope; to be empowered and to commit to fighting back. Stephanie and I maintain a special friendship because of what was an im- mediate connection, tied together with the strands of shared cancer diagnoses. She is doing so well now; she has recovered. ++ beautifully from a double mastectomy and is undergoing several weeks of radiation. We plan on having weekly radia- tion outings, where she gets a quick zap then we head to the mall! Injecting some fun and friendship into the mundane task of daily trips to the hospital for radiation will help the time pass, and just maybe give Steph something to look forward to. Remembering my radiation days well, it helped me to make plans with A friend who attended the event last year said her life was forever luminary bags, each bearing the name Please turn to page 16 friends during that time so that I had more to look forward to than lying on a cold table, alone in the dark getting radiated. Stephanie has hopes and plans for the future (includ- ing a triathalon!) and still has a smile on her face; she’s just returned from a wonderful Florida vacation with her family and her family has welcomed a new puppy. This is the truest form of strength and bravery one can witness; she too has the generosity and depth to share her story to provide hope for others. Stephanie and I plan on celebrating our survivorship, wearing our yellow t-shirts proudly at Relay for Life next month in Sunderland. We look forward to seeing you at Relay. By Tammy Maclsaac-Horvath Special to Focus on Scugog Stephanie, front, shares a much needed laugh during a visit with her good friend and mentor, Tammy earlier this year. fanny is a five-year survivor of cancer and a constant ‘rock’ for Stephani FOCUS - MAY 2009 17