Relay for Life Goal: 30 Teams by May

Although ovarian cancer statistically tends to affect much older women, Samantha Smith, 24, already has lived through it. Smith's ordeal has inspired her to reassemble Team Snicklefritz this year, and she and about 20 of her co-workers and friends will participate in the annual Relay For Life event May 14-15 in Royal Oak.

Relay For Life is the American Cancer Society's official fundraiser, typically raising more than $30 billion worldwide each year to help the organization raise awareness of all forms of the disease and conduct research for cures.

Though Relay For Life has been a fixture of the American Cancer Society since 1985, the relay in Royal Oak is in just its fifth year. Volunteer organizers threw a kick-off party Thursday night at the to spread the word about forming teams and to incite people to tell their friends and family about the cause.

Not that it hasn't been a success in the past: Last year's Relay For Life in Royal Oak collectively raised a little more than $50,000 with 26 teams participating. This year, organizers are hoping for at least 30 teams and to surpass the $50,000 mark.

"I want my team to raise at least $2,000," said Smith, who works as a cook at in downtown Royal Oak. She will turn 25 in May and has already undergone a partial hysterectomy to treat her cancer.

Proceeds from Royal Oak's relay last year contributed to a collective $4 million raised in southeast Michigan.

"It's really quite amazing how much money this region raised considering the bad economic times," said Deena Gardner, community representative for the Southeast Michigan office of the American Cancer Society. 

Relay For Life each year consists of teams across approximately 5,000 American communities and 20 international countries. The teams conduct their own fundraising for several months leading up to the relay and pledge to have at least one member walking around a track for a full 24 hours to acknowledge the daily battles of cancer sufferers. Local participants this year will walk around the track at .

At the kick-off event Thursday, volunteers and team members each had unique stories about why they participate in the relay. Some had battled cancer themselves and some had seen loved ones die. All were touched by the disease and became emotional when they talked about cancer's toll.

Yet there also was a sense of pride in the power of the relay, as well as a sense of wanting to give back to the American Cancer Society, which is second only to the American government when it comes to the national funding of cancer research.

"I really feel like my dad survived for as long as he did because of all the technology we have for fighting cancer," said Debra Ball, the chair of Royal Oak's relay this year. Ball's father was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1996 and died from the disease in 2009.

Cathy Ciccone, 68, is a two-year survivor of breast cancer. Her mother died of the disease at the age of 58 and her husband passed away from lung cancer. Ciccone said she supports the American Cancer Society because of how it shines a spotlight on every type of the disease.

"For me it was breast cancer, but that hasn't been the case for other people in my family," Ciccone said.

Margaret Tirpak, 24, is the Royal Oak team development committee chair this year, and she is hoping many more people will pledge to form teams or simply show up the day of the event to lend their financial support. Her mother-in-law battled cancer twice before dying, and her grandmother died last year from the disease.

"My grandmother was actually a very pessimistic person, but shortly before she died, she handed me $20," Tirpak said. "She told me, 'This won't help me, but hopefully it will help someone else.'"

To learn how to participate in Royal Oak's 2011 Relay for Life, visit www.relayforlife.org/royaloakmi.