Whitecourt Relay for Life brings together warriors, survivors, and memories for those lost

 

Lucy Lambert, Joan Thompson, and MaryAnne Zimmerman are sisters and throughout their lives have shared many things as most siblings do. One of the things they certainly did not want or expect to share was a cancer diagnosis but as fate would have it they each battled through breast cancer within a span of four years starting in 2014 with Lambert. On Saturday, August 25 the trio took part in the 11th Annual Whitecourt Relay for Life with their team Save The Hooters and had the brightest smiles you ever did see.

When Lambert was diagnosed, the family was already reeling from the loss of their mother. “They (her sisters) had to pick up the pieces because I was in and out with surgery. Our mom’s funeral was on a Thursday and I had surgery the next Monday.”

Given everything the sisters have been through together they have held onto fantastic senses of humour and they credit the ability to laugh as a big reason why they are all cancer warriors. “Just to keep things light we tease each other relentlessly,” giggled Zimmerman. “I had to go in for my lumpectomy and I hadn’t eaten in 12 hours and these two said, okay, you’re going in now so we’re going to go for our Costco hot dog. Talk to you later.” All three burst out laughing as they remembered the moment. Two weeks later, she finally got to have her own hot dog, and all was fair again.

“You have to laugh. It’s serious but you need to laugh. There’s been a lot of tears shed in this experience, too, as it’s not all fun and games but keeping a positive attitude is the biggest thing,” said Zimmerman. “Having two sisters who went through it makes a big difference. The support system is big. Our entire family was really good with us but these two are special because we have our own little club now which nobody wants to be in, but we take advantage of it,” said Thompson.

This time last year, Zimmerman watched her two sisters take part in the survivor lap at the relay and this year all three were able to do it together. They also released butterflies with other survivors and watched in amazement as the butterflies fluttered up and away. “The prognosis for all three of us is very good. All of our cancer was caught early which was really good,” she said.

Lambert, Thompson and Zimmerman credit mammograms for having caught their cancer in the early stages and want to use their story to urge others to make sure they get tested.  “Don’t not do them. I always thought the mobile mammogram units weren’t very reliable but that’s where they caught mine,” said Lambert. The last two years the sisters have put together the silent auction at the Relay for Life event to help raise money through their team for cancer research.

“People are so supportive. Even just mentioning that you are collecting for cancer research, everybody knows somebody that has cancer and that’s why they are so generous. Everybody has a story,” said Zimmerman. The outpouring of support towards the silent auction was overwhelming and Thompson said the continued support from the community is very important. “Even in the two years that I have been cleared and have been without cancer, strides have been made. I’m getting my treatment revisited to see if it can change. So, two years makes a big difference and the funds raised make a big difference.”

All three say that laughter is the best medicine and spending just a few moments with them makes it clear that they practice what they preach. “You need to have laughter in your life. It’s a hard road to hoe but you need to have some laughter. Keep it positive all the time because it makes a huge difference,” said Thompson.

For those just entering the journey as they deal with a cancer diagnosis, Zimmerman said to remember not to isolate yourself. “When you first get the diagnosis, you go into a tailspin with the shock. Seek out help and seek out other survivors to support you.”

This year’s Relay for Life event had a few less teams but everyone was excited and ready to go. Whitecourt Central School grade five teacher Chris Landry was walking alongside fellow staff and had a goal to complete 50 laps of the park trail. “Last year I walked 40 laps so I’m hoping I can up that number this year. This year’s relay is a little bittersweet for me because my dad just passed away from cancer at the end of June. It’s going to be difficult to write in memory of instead of in honour of on the luminaries but I’m focusing on my goal.”

He said he will be speaking with his students about the relay once the school year starts. “We talk about the relay each year and I show them pictures. It would be nice to see more of the younger people take part and build the numbers back up again.” Even with the lower attendance, organizer Niki Underwood was happy to see a total that narrowly passed last year’s numbers. “I’m never too worried. Whitecourt has very generous people in it that give with dollars, volunteerism, and their time. It’s wonderful,” she said. They counted $30,427 with a bit more coming in and are beyond proud to know that what they raised will be going to cancer research.

Since 1947 cancer research has been funded to the tune of over 1.4 billion through the Relay for Life. In 2018, Whitecourt’s event was part of 415 events nationwide in 140 communities with over 110,000 participants who collectively raised over $25,000,000. “We couldn’t do this without the help. We have our faithful teams that come every year and our relay committee is amazing. All the businesses that sponsor us and support us are so generous and giving. We are very fortunate and grateful,” said Underwood.