'I am a survivor': Relay for Life a time to reflect for cancer survivors, families
May 6—Monarch butterflies fluttered through the energetic crowd Saturday at the Kern County Fairgrounds as a countdown began to launch a steady walk around the field.
Dozens of cancer survivors dressed in purple looked ahead with determination to begin Bakersfield's Relay for Life. It's a two-day event for the community to remember loved ones who have died from cancer, and for survivors who have endured a taxing battle to walk around a track to raise money for cancer research.
"I didn't expect to get emotional," Alma Huerta, 31, said after walking the first lap with other survivors. "I started crying."
The crowd allowed survivors to tap into their shared experiences: They've all been informed of a shattering diagnosis only to claw their way through physical, mental and emotional pain. Emerging from the other side is a person whose spirit has been tempered by difficulties, but is thankful to be alive.
Indeed, after the survivor lap, a clear display of emotion unfolded. One woman took off her glasses to hold her forearm over her eyes as her body shook with tears. Another woman with black-and-red hair comforted her. A man and woman hugged each other for several seconds.
The scene also demonstrated how havoc caused by cancer reaches far beyond patients.
A breast cancer diagnosis for anyone, at any stage in life, is terrifying. But when it came for Brandi Moore seven years ago while she was pregnant, those fears multiplied.
"I was scared for both of us — and for them," Moore said, pointing to her family.
But Saturday's event with her healthy children provided her healing and an opportunity to let others know her journey. She still grapples with emotional pain after all these years.
