Every one of M.A.D. For A Cure Relay for Life team members has been touched by cancer.
MAD [Mothers and Daughters or Mums and Dads] started raising money for cancer research in 2011, when Hawkesbury mother Geraldine Neil was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Mrs Neil died later in the year, aged 64.
‘‘Mum wasn’t well enough to take part, but before she died she came along to see us all in our first relay,’’ her daughter, Carissa Finch, said.
Mrs Neil’s other daughter Kim Ford said she felt their mother was with them, every time they did the relay.
‘‘We want to put the message out there that this is a disease that affects everybody,’’ Mrs Ford said.
For their father, Ross Neil, his wife’s death was the third time cancer had taken someone he loved.
‘‘When I was 10, my father died of lung cancer,’’ Mr Neil said.
‘‘I remember everything I was doing when I was told he’d died.
‘‘It hurt, but I was too young to properly understand it.’’
Years later, in the 1990s, his mother also died from cancer.
He said although experience had deepened his understanding, it had not diminished the pain. ‘‘My niece, Brigitta, came up with the idea for our team,’’ Mr Neil said.
Brigitta Galea said her aunt’s cancer made her determined to fight the disease.
‘‘She was and still is our motivation,’’ Mrs Galea said.
Fellow team members Sandra Mitchell and Julie-Ann Davey agreed.
‘‘Geraldine is our team mascot,’’ Mrs Davey said.
Mrs Mitchell said ‘‘her cancer diagnosis was the catalyst for us to come together’’.
She said cancer had affected her family too.
‘‘My father-in-law had lung cancer and passed away 17 years ago,’’ Mrs Mitchell said.
‘‘Every year we do the walk [in Relay for Life], but this year we’ve focused more on fundraising throughout the year.
‘‘We’ve had raffles; we’ve had girls’ nights, we’ve had shopping trips.’’
Mrs Davey said Relay for Life offered many ideas for raising money.
‘‘What’s really sad though, is it took something like the death of someone close to inspire us,’’ she said.
Mrs Ford said everyone taking part in Relay for Life should also remember to have fun.
‘‘If you’re not in a team, come along and buy things, there’s lots there,’’ she said.
Relay for Life takes place at Hawkesbury Showground, Clarendon on the weekend of May 23-24.
Visit the website here.
