Relay for Life participants light candles for a luminary ceremony at the annual kick-off event that was held on Feb. 28 at Sparta First Baptist Church.

Relay for Life campaign begins

The Alleghany Relay for Life’s 12th annual campaign to raise money for the American Cancer Society began with a ‘kick-off’ event at the First Baptist Church of Sparta Feb. 28. The event was attended by about 35 people.

Michelle DeBord, the Alleghany County chairman for the event, and Lisa Bottomley, cancer survivor, welcomed the attendants. According to DeBord, this year’s set goal for the campaign is $35,000, which is slightly over the $32,591.95 raised through last year’s efforts. This year’s theme is “Around the World for a Cure.”

The keynote speaker at the event was Melody Hayes, a teacher at Elkin Elementary School, who was diagnosed in 1998 with level four breast cancer. During her speech, Hayes stated her primary support during her time of trial came from God; and she also received support from family members, including her husband, Alvin.

“When you’re diagnosed with cancer, the first thing you think of is, ‘Am I going to die?’ That’s just a normal thing you think about,” Hayes told the audience. “It’s scary. You can’t eat, you can’t sleep. It’s like your whole life stops. They would try to give me pills to take to calm my nerves and I thought, ‘If I’m going to have a battle, I’m going to have to start right now taking pills to calm my nerves. That’s when I said my prayer (and) He answered that prayer and I thank God for that because if He had not taken over my life at that time, I don’t think I would be here. If you can’t depend on God, you fall apart. That’s just true. You don’t have anything to cling to. You don’t have any hope. That’s powerful. I’m telling you these things because as my pastor always said, ‘I want to make it live for you. I want you to understand what it’s about.’ The one thing God showed me is ‘If you can be strong and trust and believe in me, you get through this.’”

Hayes said the first person she had “been around” who suffered from cancer was her mother-in-law. She has memories of going to the hospital and “doing anything I could to comfort her.”

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