Long-Time Volunteer Leads Fight Against Cancer

Liz Beddow has been participating in the American Cancer Society Relay For Life event for 24 years in honor of several loved ones who have faced cancer. This year, she is serving as co-chair of the Relay For Life of the Triangle, which will be held April 22 from 5-9 p.m. at Halifax Mall in downtown Raleigh. Here is her story.

I always say my "Why" changes throughout the seasons. I have been a Relayer for 24 years now. I started with my middle school volunteer club in honor of my uncle who passed away from cancer. The next year I joined my martial arts school's Relay For Life team, Vision 4 A Cure, and walked with my entire family in my uncle's honor. Each year was the same until 2008. It was the year my mom asked to be a co-captain with me. She was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer a month later. My first team captains meeting after her diagnosis I let the committee know what was going on and we were struggling to get her to treatment. At 20 years old, I had to quit school and got two jobs to help pay for the mortgage and bills that were piling up and there were times it was either work or treatment. Sometimes she would have to wait hours in the waiting room after treatment until someone could pick her up.

Ashley Wickline helped us get set up with Road To Recovery and information to the Hope Line. Having a volunteer pick up my mom and bring her to and from cancer treatments was a game changer.

That theme for Relay that year was "Celebrate, Remember, Fight Back," which we deemed very fitting as martial artists. That was the first year I walked as a caregiver and my mom’s only year completing the lap as a survivor. After six months of fighting back, she passed away.

The next year I struggled with returning to the Relay. I was asked in advance by our owner of Vision Martial Arts, who started Vision 4 A Cure, if I'd like to be a captain again and I asked for time. In the end, I decided to continue. I continued because of a volunteer who drove my mom to one of her treatments. I had come home from working my first job exhausted, to the volunteer in my kitchen feeding my dogs. She let me know my mom was resting upstairs and I might be tired and need a nap. She offered to wait so I could take a short nap before going to my second job. I told her I was worried I wouldn't wake up to my alarm. She said she would make sure I got up. Forty-five minutes later I was woken up and got ready for work. When I went downstairs, there was a cup of tea and a sandwich waiting for me. She had quietly slipped out the door. That whole experience was something so positive in such a hard time, and the program who brought my family this short gift was funded by the work I had helped do. I wanted to make sure someone else would have that moment.

Since that time, I have been on the committee for multiple events in the area. I have seen friends go to their annual appointments where cancer was caught early. My mother-in-law has stage 4 breast cancer and is doing great with the advances in treatment with grants funded by the American Cancer Society. There is so much progress and support with what we do.

I found this year's motto – "Celebrate, Remember, Fight Back" – fitting. My reason this year is to walk for the first time with my son, in honor of my mom, who he will never meet, in hope that the work we do will let someone celebrate being here years longer after fighting cancer so they can make memories with their grandchild.

To learn more or register for Relay For Life of the Triangle, go to RelayForLife.org/TriangleNC.