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20 years strong: Relay for Life marks milestone anniversary

This year's event slated for June 21 at Laurentian University
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Cancer survivors Dana Crispo, left, and Vivian Naponse, right, join Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life co-chair Sonia Del Missier at the launch of the 20th anniversary of the fundraising event. (Arron Pickard/Sudbury.com)

Dana Crispo remembers watching cancer survivors take their victory lap at the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life fundraiser when she was a child.

Her family has always believed in the importance of the event. She and her sister would fill luminaries with sand as volunteers, alongside their mom.

Crispo never thought then that she'd be the one walking the Survivors Lap one day, but after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 23 — and beating it — she walks that lap proudly.

In sharing her story, she hopes to educate and inspire others, and to let them know they aren't alone in what they are going through.

“It's a moment I'll never forget,” Crispo said of her diagnosis. “For the longest time, they thought my tumour was benign. I remember even the doctor was surprised by the results, and that's ingrained in my mind forever.”

Within two weeks – from the MRI to surgery – the tumour had grown from the size of a tennis ball to that of a grapefruit, she said.

In August this year, Crispo will be five years cancer free.

“The Relay for Life has always been so important to my family, and then when I was diagnosed, participating in the Relay for Life just meant that much more to us,” she said.

The Canadian Cancer Society hosted its media launch for the Relay for Life on Monday, which happens to be World Cancer Day. It's a milestone year, as the fundraiser has been taking place for 20 years now. 

Sonia Del Missier, co-chair of Relay for Life, said it was the perfect day to kick off the 20th anniversary.

“Funds raised through Relay for Life are changing lives for the better,” she said. 

Money goes toward ground-breaking research, services for cancer patients and allows the Canadian Cancer Society to advocate on patients' behalf to improve services at both levels of government.

Relay For Life in Sudbury will take place on June 21 during National Indigenous Peoples Day at Laurentian University. Given that the Indigenous communities have been longtime supporters, special event programming is planned.

For more information, visit relayforlife.ca.


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Arron Pickard

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