By The Editors
Students are encouraged to support Relay For Life by participating in Relay Rally on Thursday.
Relay For Life, which is sponsored by the American Cancer Society, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer research. It is in its sixth year at OCU.
Alumni Ann Michele King and Jeff Riles co-chaired the first Relay For Life event on campus in 2007.
King was diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer at the age of 17.
Riles, who had been a close friend of King’s since 2005, did not know she was a cancer survivor until 2006, after she found out her cancer had returned.
“When I found out she was a survivor, my whole perspective on Relay For Life changed,” Riles said.
“She had such strength and she never complained, it wasn’t the first thing you know about her,” Riles said.
King advocated for the cause that affected her life.
“Simply by being alive and well there that night, we felt a sense of accomplishment. We were and still are fighters,” King wrote after the 2008 Relay For Life.
“Some of us have battled cancer four times, hairless and all, but collectively we share a greater sense of hope,” she wrote. “Hope in knowing that we will find a cure for this ugly disease.”
King lost her battle with cancer in May 2012.
Relay Rally is at 5 p.m. Thursday and allows students to sign up for a team or get involved in Relay For Life, which will be April 5, 2013.
Students may participate on the Relay For Life committee, form a team to walk in the spring or donate money to the cause.
For more information about Relay For Life, visit relayforlife.org.
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