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Photo by Kevin Anderson

Gina Rondash places light sticks inside the bags for the luminaries at this year's Relay for Life. For the first time, event organizers made the switch from traditional candles to the light sticks to avoid any hazards.

It was a milestone night Friday at the 2008 Kaw Valley Relay for Life as one team received a special honor for its efforts in fighting cancer.

During opening ceremonies of the event that raises funds for the American Cancer Society, the team "Leavey's Legacy" was honored with a plaque for having raised more than $100,000 for cancer research in the past six years.

"It was just great," said Kristie Brady, a member of the team. "It just shows that as a small group we can make a huge difference."

Brady and her mother, Sheryl Leavey, started the team six years ago after Brady's father died from cancer. Brady said she hated that it took her father's death to get her involved, but she hopes her efforts are finally making a difference.

"I just think it brings the community together," Brady said of Relay for Life. "It shows that there's something everyone can do to fight this disease."

Brady is co-captain of the friends-and-family team that has ranged through the years from 15 to 20 members. She said the Bonner Springs Relay for Life is an important event for the entire community and that bringing together a small community to fight for a single cause makes a difference in many lives.

"You don't realize how many people are affected by (cancer) until you're affected by it," she said.

Friday's event brought together 39 teams, compared to 37 last year, said Sheryl Chadwick, co-chair for team recruitment. Although not all of the money has been counted, as of Tuesday, Chadwick said the relay had raised $141,000.

Despite a couple of downpours during the luminaria and "fight-back" ceremonies, Chadwick said the event was an overall success, with 70 participants making the final lap around the track at 7 a.m. Saturday.

This year's event also brought out the largest survivor participation ever, with 91 survivors making the first lap around the Bonner Springs High School track. Each year Chadwick said relay organizers add names to the survivor database and send special invitations for them to be honored at the event.

One survivor, Pat Kern, of Shawnee, attended the event with her daughter Erin. As Kern made her first few laps around the track, she wiped back the tears in her eyes as she remembered the battle she was able to win.

Kern was diagnosed with breast cancer on Dec. 26, 2006.

"It was my Christmas present," she joked, then quickly turned serious saying, "but I've been cancer free for about a year now."

Kern said it made her feel good seeing the number of people who showed for the same cause and she felt lucky that her experience turned out the way it did. But, she said, the event was a time to remember those who weren't as lucky.

When she was first diagnosed, Kern said she and all the people around her were so fearful of what could happen. She said she was banned from using the "c-word" because it brought up too many emotions for people.

Now that her fight is over, that fear is almost gone, and Kern said she feels like a stronger person today for having survived such an ordeal.

"I feel less afraid," she said. "It makes you feel like life is more precious. I don't let the little things bother me anymore."

Another determined survivor making her way around the track was Ruby Smith, of Kansas City, Kan.

"I said I'm going to walk this track at least once," she stated, as she slowly continued on her way using her cane for support.

After surviving breast cancer, three heart attacks and now osteoporosis in her hip, Smith said she was a "true fighter." As she made her first lap, Smith kept her tearful eyes on the luminaria bags that lined the side of the track. She was looking for one placed in honor of her husband, who lost a battle to bone cancer at age 59.

"It's emotional," Smith said. "It brings back feelings I put away for quite awhile."

Smith got started in the relay five years ago when her daughter, who works for the Wal-Mart Corp., started a work team. Smith said she couldn't believe how many people participated in the event, adding that support of loved ones was important to surviving cancer.

Smith was diagnosed with cancer in 1994, and she said it was the people who stood by her side who got her through that time. While she said a person had to be strong to beat cancer, she said no one should have to go through it alone, which is exactly what she hopes the Relay for Life shows everyone.