Participants in the NCSU Relay for Life rallied to raise awareness of cancer at Lee Field on Friday. The N.C. State team raised $24,652 which will go toward cancer research, according to Jennifer Melowski, a sophomore in psychology and co-chair of NCSU Relay for Life. 

However, the Relay didn’t meet the $30,000 goal, according to Melowski. Forty teams participated in the Relay, which included 417 people.

The majority of teams consisted of clubs on campus and within the Raleigh community. The top fundraising teams were Veterans against Cancer with $4,685, Martin Street Baptist Church with $2,725, and Omega Phi Alpha with $2,092.  

According to Melowski, about 500 people attended the event throughout the evening, which lasted from 6 p.m. on Friday until 8 a.m. on Saturday. 

“There are so many people at N.C. State who are willing to stand up and join in the fight against cancer.” Melowski said

More than 600 communities spanning across 19 countries hold Relay for Life events, according to the American Cancer Society.  There are more than 11 million cancer survivors in the U.S, the ACS reported.

The theme of the event emphasized “a world with more birthdays,” Melowski said.  The event program featured guest speaker Juanita Singleton, a cancer survivor, from Martin Street Baptist Church.  

Singleton opened the event by welcoming guests and initiated the survivor lap, in which everyone cheered and clapped for the survivors.

Diane Rietman, a cancer survivor, said she is celebrating her 24th anniversary of being cancer free and was there honoring her friend, Dennis, who died of lung cancer Wednesday.

“This event reminds me how awful this disease is and how it affects friends, families and cow-workers, but there is joy in meeting other survivors,” Rietman said. “We feel stronger by sharing our survivor stories.” 

Rietman said she is thankful for the research Relay for Life is funding.  During the 1970s, Rietman said a pap-smear test, funded by Relay for Life, helped her beat the odds of surviving ovarian uterine cancer.  

“Relays have results, and I’m here because of it,” Rietman said. 

Rietman said N.C. State and Duke have great research programs in the Triangle that can assist in finding a cure. Rietman said today, more people are talking about cancer than when she was first diagnosed, and it’s leading to better results.  

“It’s comforting to know a cure may be found right here in the Triangle,” Rietman said.  

Mary Lane Baker, mother of Rachel Baker, a freshman in human biology, said she is a cancer survivor from Williamston, N.C.  Baker said she was diagnosed unexpectedly with breast cancer at 25. 

Baker said Relay for Life has always been special to her family, especially since her mother died of cancer in 2008.  

Baker said she has been a cancer survivor for 29 years, and she wouldn’t trade places with anyone because it’s her battle.  Baker said she learned a lot about her Christian faith while being diagnosed. 

“The Lord brings us storms, but no storm sits in one place,” Baker said. “It passes over.”