Disclosure: I am helping organize Relay for Life in Wilmington.

In August, Wilmington will be participating in American Cancer Society’s fund raising event, Relay For Life, for the first time. During the 24-hour relay, teams will gather at the Banning High School track and take turns walking or running laps. The race allows the whole community to come together to raise money for cancer research and patient programs. Cancer survivors are honored by having them take the first lap, often to applause from family, friends and their community. In the evening, during the Luminaria Ceremony, community members light candles to remember those whose lives have been lost to cancer. The event will also bring awareness to the many free services provided to Wilmington, something that many of the cancer patients without health coverage in this community desperately need.

Naomi Aguirre, a Wilmington resident and cancer survivor, says she discovered she had ovarian cancer in May of 2004. She was misdiagnosed before and was already at Stage 4 – the most advanced stage of cancer – when doctors finally discovered tumors in her ovaries. Aguirre says she thinks there are a lot of environmental factors that have affected her health, but also believes that cancer runs in her family. She says she thinks the diesel pollution longshoremen are exposed to while loading and unloading ships at the port has affected the health of many of her co-workers.

“As a longshoreman, I have seen a lot of my coworkers die of cancer,” Aguirre says. “Many of my family members are also suffering from cancer now. So many people have been asking me if they can be part of my Relay team. I know that this event is really going to bring my family together.”

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