Relay for Life set for first time here

By Erin McGrath

Published: August 13, 2008

Relay for Life, a fundraising event for the American Cancer Society, is coming to Nelson County for the first time.

“We realize there’s 14,000 people in Nelson County and each and every single individual in this county has been affected in some way or another by cancer,” Sheila Layton of Tyro said.

Next year, Relay for Life will be held June 20-21 at Nelson County High School in Lovingston. 

Layton and Susan Stevens will meet with interested residents at 7 p.m. Sept. 2 at the cafeteria in Tye River Elementary School in Arrington.

All money raised from the event will go to the American Cancer Society, Stevens said. Their goal is to raise $20,000.

Layton and Stevens are co-chairing the event. The idea to hold a Relay for Life in Nelson came after the two participated in the event held in Amherst County in May.

“We immediately got on the phone and we said we need to do that,” Stevens said. “There’s just been too much taken by cancer here in our community.”

Both women have also been touched by cancer.

Layton, 38, was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 26.

“I was the youngest person, at that time, my doctor had ever dealt with breast cancer,” Layton said. She had two major surgeries, six months of chemotherapy and 31 days of radiation.

“It was a very difficult time for me,” Layton said. “When I was 26, there was nobody 26 or 30 around me who had been diagnosed. I felt very alone.”

Layton said her passion for participating in Relay for Life is letting others diagnosed with cancer know that they are not alone.

Stevens said she has been touched by cancer through the loss of family members and friends.

“I participated in Relay for Life in Amherst County and it was one of the most profound experiences of my entire life,” Stevens said. “All these people came to one place for their own personal reasons, but at the same time, (were) there for one reason.”