From close family members to close friends, we all know someone whose life has been touched by cancer at some point. Local cancer survivors and their caregivers will take the celebratory first lap at the American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Webster County event on Saturday at Fort Dodge City Square. Registration begins at 11 a.m. with the survivors lap following at 11:30 a.m.

At the Relay, cancer survivors and caregivers come together to be recognized for their personal fight against a disease that has taken too much. Relay will provide participants with fun family activities, great food and a meaningful new way of honoring and remembering those touched by cancer by tying cancer ribbons on trees and displaying luminaries.

The Relay For Life of Webster County is a community event where families, friends, neighbors and individuals come together to honor, celebrate, and raise funds and awareness in an effort to free the world from the pain and suffering of cancer. If you are a cancer survivor or caregiver and would like to take part in the Relay, call Allison Peterson at 570-1026. All survivors receive a free Relay For Life T-shirt and a special gift. No registration is necessary; all survivors are welcome to join Relay. There will be a special reception area designated for all survivors and caregivers near the entrance of the Fort Dodge Public Library.

Money raised at Relay will help the American Cancer Society provide free information and support for people facing the disease today, and fund cancer research that will help protect future generations. ACS is attacking cancer in dozens of ways, each of them critical to achieving a world without cancer — from developing breakthrough therapies to building supportive communities, from providing empowering resources to deploying activists to raise awareness. They have invested more than $4.6 billion in research for cancer detection, prevention, and control.

ACS helps nearly 1 million people touched by cancer each year get the help they need when and where they need it. Their cancer information specialists answer questions, provide information, and refer people to community resources 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via phone (1-800-227-2345), email, and live online chats on cancer.org. They help patients and their families with their most pressing needs: getting rides to treatment, navigating the health care system, and dealing with the side effects of treatment. ACS is attacking cancer from every angle.

The American Cancer Society is committed to saving lives from cancer. But we can’t do it without you. Your donations help us fight all types of cancer, for all types of people, in all types of communities around the globe. Each person who joins Relay For Life can take pride in knowing that they are working toward creating a world free from the pain and suffering of this disease. Please join us at Relay this year and support our efforts in leading the fight for a world without cancer.

Dr. Carrie Jo Calisesi is chairperson for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life of Webster County. For more information about donating or participating in Relay, visit RelayForLife.org/WebsterCountyIA