By Stephanie Fasano

Quinnipiac University raised more than $65,000 during its Relay for Life, an organized community fundraising walk to raise money for the American Cancer Society, on April 11-12 at the TD Bank Sports Center.

Each year, more than four million people in over twenty countries raise funds and awareness to save lives from cancer through the relay for life movement.

Entertainment Chair of Relay for Life, Abby O’Neill, said she has seen has a lot of family and friends that have battled through the disease.

“Most recently my grandfather was given a terminal illness, so kind of watching him battle it, keeping the fact that he’s still smiling everyday even though his days are limited is really inspirational to me,” O’Neill said.

Relay for Life started at 6 p.m. and went until 6 a.m. with a luminary ceremony and a fight back ceremony during the event. Participating teams had to walk constantly for twelve hours. “When Dr. Gordy Klatt first did the relay for life he walked for 24 hours straight and that was his way of raising awareness for cancer, raising money.
So one person from every team is supposed to be on the track at all times, just to symbolized the fact that he walked for 24 hours,” O’Neill said.

Quinnipiac senior, Erin O’Brien, has been involved since her sophomore yeat to remember her grandmother. “I hope to remember her strength and that she lost the battle, but she was one of the strongest people I know and one of the funniest people and like even the crazy things that we do tonight like kind of remind me of her life and her whole story,” O’Brien said.

Quinnipiac junior, Brian Blake, was diagnosed with testicular cancer in August. He went through surgery and four months of chemotherapy. His father, Tom Blake, said his son is ready to get back to school. “Right now, he got his final letter of clearance from the medical and they brought it up here and now he’s eligible to come back for his…what will be his senior year, in September, but we have to get his courses squared away and we have to do the things that normal students do,” Blake said.

Relay for Life is to an organization to help raise awareness and to finish the fight against cancer.

“I have a saying if you spend all your time worrying about the rabbits, an elephant is going to step on you. And those things are rabbits we don’t worry about them, were worried about the elephants,” Blake said.

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