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Home > Local > Relay for Life set for May 31

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Relay for Life set for May 31

Local
By Alice Felts
Source: Fauquier Weekend
FRIDAY, MAY 30 2008
UPDATED WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11 2008

 

“It comes down to moments like this, moments when your world equals clarity and confusion simultaneously. Moments when you realize the profound. You don't have to be a monk living on the highest peak in Tibet. All you ever had to do was open your eyes, open your heart, open yourself up to see. I'm not afraid anymore. Not entirely, but almost. I'm living every moment, every inhalation. This is life, terrible and exquisite, taking steps, crossing bridges and skylines and glittering within arm's reach.”

Jessica Randall, shortly after her brain cancer diagnosis

 Honoring Jessica

 By Alice Felts

Fauquier Weekend Staff Writer

Heide Randall is one of the most enthusiastic team organizers for this year's Relay for Life event. Randall and her husband Mark lost their 17-year-old daughter to brain cancer last year.

Jessica Randall, a talented artist and writer, would have graduated from high school this June. Some of her classmates, along with her brother Jake, will be participating on a relay team in her memory.

The relay team is just one of the many things that Randall has initiated to help people become more aware of the many different impacts of cancer.

She has become an active advocate for legislative action on various issues regarding childhood cancer and brain tumor research.

As a graphic artist, Randall designs t-shirts, buttons, coffee mugs and other items to sell for the support of a scholarship fund named for her daughter.

She maintains a progressive journal of what she calls Jessica's journey to help survivors and their families learn cancer facts, access communication with others, and deal with the physical and emotional challenges that accompany the disease.

Randall also shares her family's personal story. At the age of 15, Jessica's life was impacted forever, beginning with a grand mal seizure. Though doctor's initially thought the brain tumor was benign, she was ultimately diagnosed with Grade 3 anaplastic astrocytoma.

Fighting the malignant brain tumor, the teenager underwent surgery, radiation and chemotherapy at various hospitals in D.C. and Baltimore. But a new tumor mass appeared behind her brainstem, and she lost her fight three days after her 17th birthday.

To read more about Jessica and get helpful information from Randall, visit www.caringbridge.org
 

Approximately 60 teams are expected to take part in this weekend's Relay for Life event at Fauquier High School's Falcon Field. Organizers also expect nearly 200 cancer survivors to participate.


“Painting the town purple” is one of the goals of organizers for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, which begins May 31.

Businesses all over Fauquier County are displaying purple ribbons in their store fronts to show support for the upcoming community event.

Carole Overman and Jennifer Scarborough, friends since college, are co-chairing the occasion for a cause close to their hearts. The relay fund-raiser provides money for research, early detection, prevention education and patient services.

But one of the most important outcomes of the relay is community involvement in the celebration for cancer survivors, from the newly diagnosed to those in remission.

One in three people will get cancer. “Cancer is indiscriminate and knows no boundaries,” according to According to American Cancer Society literature.

“It could happen to any of us,” adds Overman.

There are approximately 2,200 cancer survivors in Fauquier County, according to Overman. That's why she and Scarborough have spent endless hours organizing the opening ceremony, special fun events, a luminaria ceremony and morning service, all starting on Saturday at 2 p.m. and ending after 7 a.m. on Sunday.

Almost 60 relay teams have registered with a goal of having at least one person on each team walk on the track, one at a time, at Fauquier High School. Relay walkers can “pass off” to another team member from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. during the event.

In addition to the individual teams raising donations for their participation, Overman said that the event has drawn more than $40,000 in corporate sponsorships, mostly from local businesses. “They say it's a lean year, but we're not seeing it,” she said.

Almost 200 cancer survivors plan to be at the Relay for Life on Saturday. The rest of the community is invited to come, as well. It's a recognition of survivors and, as Overman describes, a celebration.

For more information about this weekend's event, visit www.fauquierrelay.com .

E-mail the reporter: afelts@timespapers.com.



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