Relay for Life has been reshaping lives in Plant City for 20 years. Teams across the city rally for the cause, loved ones are remembered and survivors are honored.
This year’s honorary survivor is Kim Curran, who was diagnosed with cervical cancer in November of 2016. Her humble attitude and upbeat spirit made her perfect for the role. She said she hopes her story will inspire others to have faith that even when things are darkest, there is still light that can be found.
“When they asked me to tell my story I realized my story wasn’t remarkable,” Curran said. “There’s nothing about my story that’s any different from anyone else. Cancer is an ugly, vile disease, but there are some positive things that can come out of it. That’s what I’m going to focus my speech on.”
Curran is a single parent whose daughter, Jade, has Down Syndrome and currently attends Plant City High School.
When she was diagnosed, she said her entire community and even strangers she interacted with showed such support for her that she couldn’t help but find their attitude infectious.
Whether it was her brother volunteering to stay with her and her daughter to take her to her appointments, her Curves family cooking her dinner and helping her around the house or even strangers smiling at her in the supermarket when they saw her walk by, she said she noticed everyone was rooting for her to succeed.
Routine was a major part of Curran’s life. Her daughter is heavily involved in Special Olympics and the two of them frequent the local YMCA nearly every day. Through the groups they are involved with, she said she quickly fostered meaningful relationships with people all over town. However, when she was diagnosed she was still shocked at how many people went out of their way to lend a helping hand.
Her love for Relay runs deep and she said it is crucial society continues to raise funds to help with the research on this disease and to help those who are diagnosed to be able to receive the best care available, regardless of their financial status.
“We have come a long way with medicine, but there’s still so much more that needs to be done,” Curran said. “It’s so important to get the help that people need. I’m fortunate. I have a good job and I have healthcare. How does somebody do this if they don’t have the funds or a brother that can drive them every day? Everyone deserves the same type of care.”
The local Relay for Life chapter formed in 1988, 13 years after the first event was held in Tacoma, Washington. In the past seven years the group has raised approximately $1.87 million for the cause and Laurie Curtis, 2018 event co-lead, estimates the total for the past 20 years is more than $3 million.
For 2018, the 57 teams with 747 volunteers, along with the sponsors of the event, have already raised more than $95,000.
Curtis said each year the group picks an Honorary Survivor who helps the community personalize the purpose of the Relay experience and then show their support for Relay For Life and the American Cancer Society.
“The message (from the survivor) is generally one of hope, courage and strength and often includes a message on how the American Cancer Society or the Relay For Life community helped make a difference for the survivor,” Curtis said.
Curran said she hopes her speech will bring a sense of hope and peace to those in attendance. When she was diagnosed she said she cried throughout the first few days, but then simply felt peace. She said she knew she wasn’t being handed a death sentence so she got to work and threw herself into doing everything the doctors recommended.
“I just knew I was going to be OK, I can’t explain it,” Curran said. “Maybe it’s because of the fact that I have Jade and I just felt like God would never take me away from her.”
In addition to the speech, the Honorary Survivor will lead all of the survivors in the opening lap for Relay. Curran said even though she had gone to Relay so many times over the years she was still caught off-guard when her friend asked her to do the survivors walk last year.
At that point in time Curran hadn’t yet finished her treatment and she said she wasn’t sure if she should participate. Her friend looked at her and said “You’re alive right?” and the two took off toward the track.
Her last chemo treatment was in July 2017 and three months later the scan showed she was officially cancer-free. Curran said she cannot wait to lead the strong group of survivors around the track this year.
“I hope that for anyone that is either going through this or gets diagnosed in the future, I want them to have hope that there’s all these people out there that want to help them,” Curran said. “You don’t have to die with this disease anymore.”