Cancer Survivors & Caregivers Honored

It’s never too late for a Mardi Gras party! On Saturday April 6th, at the Knights of Columbus in Colton, the Relay for Life committee came together to celebrate the survivors of cancer and the caregivers who helped them. Relay for Life in Colton has been in existence for 10 years, and each year they put together a dinner to honor and remember members of the community who have had and beat cancer. At the front door, Madison Barrera and Candice Baber were handing out Mardi Gras beads to everyone who came inside. A DJ was playing popular songs and there were Mardi Gras colored tablecloths and masks on the table. Paula Flores, the event chair of Relay for Life, has been involved for 6 years and became involved after her sister-in-law passed away from cancer on Christmas Eve leaving behind a 3-year-old son. Flores is the liaison between the Relay for Life organization and The American Cancer Society. Relay for Life is one of the biggest fundraisers of the American Cancer Society and is a global organization; it’s a 24-hour walk for people to experience the life of a cancer patient, so the walk begins at sunrise and ends at sunrise the next day, as the day goes by, people will experience the exhaustion that comes with living with cancer day after day. Flores said, 10 years ago, there were only 4 teams and they raised $14,000 and last year, the group raised $103,000 and the number continues to get bigger year after year. Melissa Lira was in attendance from Rialto and is a 17-year-old high school student who has had cancer twice in her life. She was 8-years-old when she was first diagnosed with nuroblastoma cancer and the second time she was diagnosed with cancer in 2013, it was medulloblastoma. When Lira had cancer the first time, she underwent chemotherapy and radiation. She said, “I couldn’t wear clothes or touch anything because the chemo would burn through the clothes and I had to be covered from the exposure to the sun.” The second time she went in for an MRI and a tumor was discovered in the frontal lobe of her brain near the pituitary gland. Doctors said she could have gone blind if it had gone unnoticed. Lira is planning on going to school to be a technician for ultra sound and will be graduating high school in May of 2015. During the course of the night, members gathered with one another to celebrate and remember ones who have passed or friends who are still fighting. Flores said, “this year is dedicated to Adrian (who used to be the chairwoman), she is the heart of the relay and this year is a bit difficult because she is not here presently, but she’s here in spirit.” They are dedicating a kids camp to Adrian and Flores said, they lost two survivors and in the process of losing more, but we keep going and fighting because that’s what they’d want us to do.” Mary Lou Navarro came up to the front of the room and shared her story saying, “I am a 13-year-old survivor of breast cancer and I went through a long road, I went to the oncologist and he told me, not to come back and he didn’t want to see me again.” Raffle prizes were handed out to guests and cupcakes were served after everyone sang happy birthday to the survivors, and Flores thanked the committee members who gave so tirelessly to make the event possible. Navarro shared, “I’ve been very blessed, I’ve always remained positive and have had a lot of support from family, friends, coworkers and I had the faith I would beat this and I did. It’s been a long journey, when I was going through chemotherapy, I’d wonder if I was going to get through it all. My husband was my nurse and he meant everything; he never left my side. He was always there for me and whatever I needed, he was there to do it. He was my caregiver 100%, with my husband and the help of family members and friends, I made it though.” For people who have been diagnosed with cancer, Lira shared, “everything will be okay, I passed it [cancer] and survived it 2 times, and just fight and keep on fighting.”