IF YOU GOWhat: Relay for LifeWhen: Saturday, 6 p.m. to Sunday, 6 a.m.Where: Carrier DomeHow much: $10 donation

Lucy Miller does Relay for Life for her two grandmothers. Her story dates back to eighth grade, when one grandmother, Dorothy, was diagnosed with cancer.

Throughout her high school years, Miller watched her grandmother suffer. When she died during Miller’s freshman year at Syracuse University, it strengthened Miller’s resolve to find a cure.

When the television, radio and film major arrived at SU, she discovered the annual Relay for Life. This year’s event will start Saturday at the Carrier Dome at 6 p.m. and will run until 6 a.m. Sunday, and money raised will be donated to the American Cancer Society.

‘She was my reason to get involved with Relay,’ Miller said of her grandmother. ‘She was my reason to want to find a cure.’

After participating in Relay her freshman year, Miller moved up through the group’s ranks. She currently serves as the co-chair of the Relay for Life committee – the group that organizes the event.

About 204 teams signed up to participate this year. At the event, teams decorate their tents along the infield of the Carrier Dome and spend the night there.

Teams continue to collect money long into the night and early morning. People can pay one dollar to be carted around the track in a wheelbarrow or take part in a jousting competition, among other things.

‘The first time I saw it in the Dome, I didn’t know what to expect,’ said Julia Goldstein, a co-chair of the event and senior inclusive education major.

New additions this year include a bone marrow drive, Miller said. Students can get their cheeks swabbed and then entered into a database to be a potential donor. The committee also added an on-site silent auction. Items up for bid include coasters signed by actor Dennis Quaid, a photo signed by actress Glenn Close and a multitude of sports memorabilia, Miller said.

A slideshow will accompany the luminaria ceremony, in which participants remember loved ones who died of cancer. This year, people submitted pictures of loved ones to put a face with a name, Miller said.

Even though the American Cancer Society sponsors Relay for Life, the event is entirely student-run. With no faculty advisors, the committee primarily works with ACS representatives and the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega.

The committee had its last meeting Tuesday. Members devoted the time to last-minute details, including handing out T-shirts to staff members, assigning volunteer duties and organizing the bands performing during the evening’s festivities. The announced lineup included a cappella groups such as Orange Appeal and Groovestand, as well as local band Sophistafunk.

SU raised more than $155,000 through the Relay efforts last year. Last week, the committee announced it broke the $90,000 barrier. As of Wednesday night, its Web site registered a total of $91,405.39 raised.

Members said they expect more donations. Goldstein said she hopes to beat previous years’ records on Sunday.

‘Our numbers keep going up, so we’re just hopeful for that,’ said Jenna Karavan, a junior biochemistry major.

Like many committee members, Karavan’s personal experiences with cancer led her to join Relay. Her grandfather was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer while she was in high school.

‘Coming here and seeing people do Relay was just really motivating for me to get involved,’ Karavan said. ‘My grandfather has a lot to do with that.’

Miller said finding these personal connections to cancer shouldn’t come as a surprise.

‘I’ve talked to a lot of people, and you don’t have to dig very hard to find their reason to want to fight back,’ Miller said.

Miller’s other grandmother Sara, the second piece of her Relay for Life story, was diagnosed with colon cancer in late 2007.

But Sara’s story turned out different. She took an orally administered form of chemotherapy which ultimately saved her life.

‘Due to the advances of people fundraising and helping to advance cancer research, she’s been cancer-free for a year,’ Miller said. ‘And that’s my reason to keep relaying, to find a cure.’

[email protected]

Published on March 25, 2009 at 12:00 pm