By Fred Guarino

The Selma Times-Journal

 

“Although we’re raising awareness, these people… they’re fighting a fight daily,” said Tanya Miles, chairman of the 2012 Dallas County American Cancer Society Relay for Life, prior to the annual Sherri S. James Survivors Banquet held Monday at the Carl C. Morgan Convention Center. Miles said the banquet, was started by her sister, a relay chairman, who died in 2009.

“She felt like it should be important for the survivors to be recognized,” Miles said.

The banquet kicked off relay week with bank night on Thursday and the Relay for Life tonight at 6 p.m. inside Memorial Stadium.

“Our survivors will kick our relay off with the survivors’ lap, and we theme different laps,” Miles said. “This year we are ‘Tailgating for a Cure.’ So, we’ll have different schools out … We’ll have the different fight songs and just a lot of fun,” she said.

Miles said the relay will be held from 6 p.m. to midnight on Friday. The Relays for Life, Miles said, are done at night, “because cancer knows no time.”

Lizz Custard, who attended Monday’s banquet, is a 23-year breast cancer survivor.

“It’s joining again, giving us another chance,” Custard said of the annual Relay for Life. “Well, we don’t have chances, we have blessings. It’s a blessing from God. And Relay for Life, we’re coming out to encourage others who may be going through cancer of some sort.”

Kay Little is 21-year breast cancer survivor.

“It means getting together with my friends and people that have had breast cancer … just means fellowshipping with them and getting to see them again,” Little said. “It just means a lot that they do this for us.”