Dannye Wagner (left) and Pat Board speak to the Chamber of Commerce about the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life last week. This will mark the tenth year Relay For Life has been in Trigg County.
“Everyone has been touched by cancer one way or another,” said Board who introduced her fellow co-chairperson Dannye Wagner.
Wagner discussed the history of the Relay For Life, with the first held in 1985. Now, over 4,500 Relay events are held in the United States and abroad. Trigg County’s began in 1998. She said that for six of those years, the county has been recognized as the top fundraiser per capita in the nation.
“Some of the money raised funds for innovative research with new ideas. None of the money is thrown at ideas that don’t work,” said Wagner. “The pharmaceutical companies do not fund it until researchers get so far in their work. They need seed money to start out with,” she said.
“There was an exciting announcement in the news in January,” said Wagner. “According to the ACS, fewer people have died from cancer in the last two years. With improved treatment options and testing procedures, these numbers will continue to drop.”
Wagner said that money not only goes to research for early detection and treatment, but to patient services, such as transportation grants to bring patients to treatment facilities, temporary lodgings and programs such as Look Good… Feel Better that promote the emotional wellbeing.
“The Hope Lodge in Nashville is just that, hope,” said Wagner. “It’s plain when you look at it from the outside, but inside, it’s a home away from home for patients and their families.” The American Cancer Society operates 22 Hope Lodges in the United States free of charge.
The next Look Good… Feel Better session is scheduled for May 7. “Local trained volunteers help women with cancer look good and care for themselves during their treatments, and they feel better about themselves,” Wagner said.
For the rest of this story, read this week's Cadiz Record.
