Relay for Life profile: Kristy Ayers

Kristy & Cate at last year's Relay for Life at FHHS....

People help out with Relay for Life for different reasons. Over the next few weeks, let’s hear from some of the folks who are doing the Relay this year. This week – let’s hear from Kristy Ayers, who is the online chairperson and her team is called Burnin’ For a Cure:

Why I Relay: My first Relay was in 1998. I participated as a team member, representing my college dorm.

Even though my next Relay wasn’t for another eight years, I never forgot the incredible experience of the first time I participated in Relay. During those eight years, I worked as a caregiver in private homes, hospitals, and with hospice.

I Relay in the memory of those clients that remain close to my heart. I Relay in the memory of my Grandpa Mickey, a veteran of two wars, who lost his final battle to lung cancer.

I Relay for the amazing pharmaceuticals and procedures that have saved my grandmother and aunt’s lives.  Each and every one of my grandparents has fought a battle with cancer – only one has survived. My father has mesothelioma, and I Relay to help find better and more efficient treatments to fight cancer so that my future friends and family members won’t have to suffer as those before them.

Helping fight to find a cure for cancer is extremely important to me. I have been a team member/participant as well as a team captain. This will be my second year as a committee member for Friday Harbor’s Relay for Life.  You don’t even have to take time out of your summer to walk. You can donate a dollar to a participant, spread the word to friends, or learn ways to improve your health and prevent cancer.  Knowledge is Power!

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