Run a lap, spread the word on cancer in Mumbai

“Cancer doesn’t sleep. So, for one night, neither will we.” It is with this sentiment that 150-odd students, teachers, activists and celebrities in the city will participate in an overnight relay walkathon this Friday. The group will camp at the École Mondiale World School in Juhu at 8pm and will take turns walking or jogging around the track till 8am the next day.

Called the ‘Relay For Life’, this initiative is a worldwide movement for cancer awareness and fundraising efforts. More than 20 countries, including the US, the UK and Australia, have been participating in the event for the last 10 years now.

“It is for the first time that the Relay for Life is being held in India,” says 17-year-old Neerav Dharia, who studies at the school and is also one of the organisers of the event.

The event will begin on Friday evening with the ‘Survivors’ Lap’, which will celebrate the spirit of cancer survivors who will walk around the track together in a symbolic gesture. At the ‘Luminaria Ceremony’, candles will be lit in honour or in memory of those who have either survived or succumbed to cancer. On Saturday morning, the ‘Fight Back Ceremony’ will encourage participants to make a commitment to saving lives by taking up the fight against the disease.

“The Relay for Life is the largest movement in the world that seeks to bring together activists, doctors, victims, survivors and the general public to not just create awareness about the disease, but to also raise funds for treatment and research,” says oncologist Dr Purna Kurkure, who is associated with the Indian Cancer Society and has founded Ugam, a support group for cancer survivors.