Honorary Survivor Angela Johnston kicks off the event as she leads the other survivors to the finish line during their first lap. Photos by Tommy Wong.
Last night the North Bay community rallied together and showed its support for cancer research. Thousands were in attendance for Relay For Life, but there was one person who garnered lots of positive attention.
That person was Angela Johnston, and she was the Honorary Survivor at the event. It would be difficult to find a person who's gone through more than Angela and also someone who's shown more persistence than her.
When she was a newborn, she almost died. She had severe problems with her lungs and couldn't breathe right, but she managed to survive it.
She has also endured three different types of cancer and she's fought through it. Out of all the battles, she recalls her second battle with cancer was the most difficult one.
“I was just coming off an emotional trauma and turmoil in regards to my dad passing away from cancer,” said Johnston.
“So then I thought, 'Oh my God', my Dad just died and now I have cancer again. So it was pretty emotional for me to have to deal with that.”
She noted that the support she got from her family, friends and caregivers were her driving force which helped her keep going.
“There's days when you don't care and you just want to give up. But they're there to help you. And also give you that boost that says 'no, it's not time yet, you can fight a little bit more'.”
Angela's had over 20 stitches in her back and a portion of her lung removed as well. And despite those factors, she's still very upbeat and was thankful that she was picked as the Honorary Survivor.
Leslie Burt-Manary cuts off her hair for a good cause.
There were several other survivors who attended the Relay For Life event as well. Leslie Burt-Manary survived colon cancer and but her fight with cancer is an ongoing one. While she was there, she decided to shave her head.
“When I was going through chemotherapy, I was one of the lucky ones not to lose my hair,” stated Leslie.
“So when I put the our team together, I thought for many people cancer is an invisible illness, where you don't look sick, especially when you don't lose your hair. So I wanted to honour those people with invisible illnesses. And also to pay tribute to those who didn't have a choice to lose their hair, when going through chemotherapy.”
All in all, the event was a success. The rain stopped just before the event started and the new format of the event being shortened worked out well. Gil Pharand, the Manager at the North Bay & District Canadian Cancer Society office heard many positive responses at the event.
“Everyone's having a good time,” said Pharand.
“They like that we're keeping things simple. But, it really is about people having fun, because cancers not a fun disease, but it doesn't mean fighting it can't be fun.”
