KAILUA-KONA — For Christine Kern and Dawn Eicher, Saturday wasn’t only an event. It was also an anniversary.
KAILUA-KONA — For Christine Kern and Dawn Eicher, Saturday wasn’t only an event. It was also an anniversary.
Kern and Eicher, who were each diagnosed with late-stage cancer in 2015 and 2013, respectively, met as survivors at last year’s Relay For Life Kona, a fundraiser put on by the American Cancer Society and held at Old Airport Park each summer.
Now close friends, the two women in their early 40s marched as survivors again at the 23rd annual Relay For Life Kona — walking for all those who couldn’t.
When she thinks about those lost to cancer and those yet fighting, Kern can’t help but tear up.
“It wasn’t that close to my heart before I actually had cancer, but now that I went through it all and have survived it, it’s a really big deal to come to this event,” said Kern, a survivor of breast and pancreatic cancer. “My son asked me this evening why we are doing this since I don’t have cancer anymore. Because a lot of other people do.”
Eicher said there’s a power that can be felt throughout the night, which stretched on into Sunday morning as survivors, relay teams and volunteers bid at silent auctions, grabbed a bite or played a game at one of the many booths, and walked around a makeshift track lined with luminarias lit up in remembrance of those who have fought or are fighting the disease.
The power is in the faces of the survivors and their families, the hope and the love, and sometimes, the sorrow.
“You never know when it’ll be you,” said Eicher, who was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer at the age of 36. “And you’re never too young. I thought I was way too young to be diagnosed with cancer, but it can hit anyone. It’s important to care now and look for cures.”
Tanya Brown, a staff member of Relay For Life Kona who works with the American Cancer Society, said researching a cure is one of two purposes of the event. Dozens of teams and hundreds of participants hoped to raise $100,000 Saturday to bolster that research as well as to fund programs that help cancer patients on Hawaii Island.
Some programs — like “Road to Recovery” — help patients get to doctors appointments and pay for airfare and car rentals to get to Oahu for treatment. While others, like “Hope Lodge,” offer a patient and a caregiver a place to stay for free once they arrive.
Another, “Look Good, Feel Better,” helps patients with wigs or head wear, as well as cosmetics.
“Research shows, when you look good, you feel better,” Brown said. “It can all be really taxing, not just on the cancer patient but also their families.”
One story Brown recalled involved a mother who reached out to the American Cancer Society because the changes to her body were creating a rift between her and her young children.
“She had two little ones, and because her hair was changing, they pushed away from mom because she didn’t look the same,” Brown explained. “The mom called us out of desperation. She didn’t know what to do. How does she talk to her children?”
The organization sent the woman a children’s book. The results were dramatic.
“She read the book to them, which taught them what mommy was going through and that’s how she was able to reconnect with them,” Brown said.
The American Cancer Society’s service doesn’t stop there, either. Brown said the organization has a hotline open 24 hours a day, with people who can help patients sift through the sometimes confusing medical jargon they hear from their doctors, or connect patients to trials when doctors say traditional medicine no longer proves effective.
The hotline is also a way for cancer patients to access the programs mentioned above.
All those services are crucial, said Debbie Wills, who helped captain the Macy’s Relay For Life Team Saturday night. It was her 14th year at the event.
“We’ve had a lot of family and friends afflicted with cancer,” said Wills, adding that all of her team members have at least one person they love who has been impacted by the disease. “We have 32 luminarias this year, which is the most we’ve ever had.”
Each luminaria is inscribed with one of two phrases: “Forever in our hearts,” for those who have passed, and “Forever in our prayers,” for those still battling.
Relay For Life Kona supports a cause that speaks even to those who haven’t been touched by cancer, like Hannah and Akari Shimizu. The two sisters, 19 and 17, respectively, participated in their first relay Saturday night.
“We didn’t know anything about it. I really didn’t know anything like this existed,” Hannah said. “What stands out is just how tight-knit Kona can be.”