Relay for Life Raises Funds, Awareness, Spirits

This article was reported and written by Leslie Ellis.

Hundreds of walkers from Berkley, Huntington Woods, Oak Park and Royal Oak were among those who celebrated cancer survivors and remembered lost loved ones this weekend during the annual Relay for Life fundraiser.

Twenty-nine teams and more than 250 people had raised nearly $50,000 ahead of the 24-hour walking relay that kicked off at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Royal Oak Middle School track, according to the Relay for Life website. Teams also sold food and merchandise during the relay at tents that ringed the track, with all proceeds to benefit the American Cancer Society.

More than 4 million people in more than 20 countries worldwide participate in Relay for Life events each year, according to the American Cancer Society.

Cancer survivor Muriel Sherbow of Oak Park, who played mah-jongg with her girlfriends in the Royal Oak Middle School track infield Saturday, was among them.

When asked what it meant for her and other survivors to be able to participate in the Relay for Life, she exclaimed: "It means we're still alive!"