HANAPEPE — Team Kukui‘ula potted up more than $22,000 as the leading fundraising team, Saturday during the Relay for Life benefiting the American Cancer Society at the Hanapepe soccer fields.
“And, they’re not done, yet,” said Maka Herrod, the event’s emcee. “They’re still raising money.”
Team Kukui‘ula offered its starter plants and a host of food items as well as coffee during the night-long event that started with the Survivors Walk, Saturday afternoon and continued through 6 a.m., Sunday.
“Everyone wants coffee — especially late at night,” said Shelly Gerardo of Team Kukui‘ula. “We’re not closing down the coffee shop. It’s going to be open all the way through.”
Walkers passing the Team Kukui‘ula tent stopped when the parade of survivors passed by under a rainbow that struggled for life in the light mist drifting down from the Kalaheo plateau.
Eyes turned skyward as a Maverick helicopter sidled over the Hanapepe Bay, drifting inland with the strong winds that toyed with the banners and streamers in the encampment. As the caravan of survivors neared the completion of a lap around the luminaria, floral petals, bouganvillea and fragrant plumeria melded with the raindrops to welcome the survivors.
“This was a complete surprise,” said Patti Ornellas, the Kauai American Cancer Society’s senior community manager. “We didn’t tell anyone about this. Mahalo to Liane Pestrella of Maverick Helicopters for this thrilling surprise.”
Laurie Tateishi, quietly dispensing goodies at the West Kauai Hongwanji Mission tent, was touted as the top individual fundraiser on the ACS Relay website. She is credited with raising more than $6,400 toward the overall goal of $211,000.
The Relay for Life is an event of celebration and remembrance for people affected by cancer. This year’s theme was “You’ve got a Friend,” and Wes Perreira was the big friend, serving as the event lead.
The American Cancer Society next hosts the Relay for Life of East and North Shore Kauai on Aug. 10 with a goal of $50,000.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
Aloha Kakou,
Congratulations to the people who supported the successful Fund Raiser for the Relay for Life for the AMERICAN Cancer Society.
The money raised along with the next events on KauaI Will bring in much money for the AMERICAN Cancer Society.
Add to that the other nationwide Fund Raisers for the AMERICAN Cancer Society and it is an enormous amount of money brought in for the American Cancer Society.
Cancer is so prevalent on Kauai that there are 2 American Cancer Society offices listed for Kauai and one Oncology (Cancer) Radiation (Treatment) Center in LIHUE.
The American Cancer Society has been around according to online for a 100 years searching for a cure(s).
They claim they are curing people, it would be nice to know for what type of cancers.
We’ve heard that if you survive 5 years from the medical cancer treatment that you are considered cured, even if you die in the 6th year, which does not seem too rewarding if you in your teens or 20’s or even 50’s or 60’s. 5 years of survival is not a realistic Benchmark for getting well from something like the too many cancers. It is known that some cancer treatments are strong enough to increase your chance of dying.
What we hear about cancer is almost always about Finding a Cure in Your Lifetime…for the last 100 years. It’s all about after the fact treatment, you have a cancer diagnosis already and you are ready for treatment. Where’s the Prevention. Forget the Treatment we want to stay well. We Deserve Better…!
It would be sane and scientific if these Fund Raising monies went to finding the many CAUSES and the Preventions of Cancer, then there would be much less money wasted on unnecessary treatments not to mention the suffering, since for most people the diagnosis of a cancer means a death sentence…Death Row.
If people knew the Cause of Cancer they could Prevent it, avoid it..instead of blindly waiting for the diagnosis to come along based on your complaint of symptoms and medical test to confirm it.
It’s really very much putting the proverbial “Cart Before the Horse”.
The thought is shameful…Let’s wait around for Cancer so we can have the most expensive Health Care in the world right here in America while we are #37 in Quality of Disease Care in the world.
Would seem reasonable that if we invested in finding the Causes of Cancer we’d have less of it, less deaths from cancer as well as less suffering and sadness, something that Buddha spent his life figuring out a “cure” for…though it may have not been specific for cancer eliminating suffering and sadness is still a noble, worthy, and worldwide effort.
Cancer is a Disease, all Diseases are a Process, an internal failure so to speak…it is a Degenerative Process, and it can be initiated and accelerated by external things (catalysts of Disease). We’ll get to these external causes in a minute.
On the other hand Wellness, or getting well is also a Process, it is called the Healing Process, and it is either Regenerative or Rejuvenative. It goes on 24 hours a day in humans like a house keeper on overtime. Whether being a cut on your finger, a cold, a flu, the measles or mumps, a even a disease like diabetes or cancer. There is a Cause because Disease is an effect…Disease is not a Cause unto itself.
Cure…? Cancer or Diabetes Cure…? We think Curing is better left to beef jerky, corned beef, and resin for your boat or surfboard.
Knowing the Cause of Cancer and any other Diseases allows Prevention and Avoidance to obviously be the priority of choice, and reduces the need of and burden on the internal Healing Process. By the way, the Nervous System controls and coordinates the Healing Process.
Besides who in their right mind would want to wait around for a diagnosis and treatment when they can proactively prevent and avoid diseases like cancer and heart disease and stroke, diabetes and Alzheimer’s?
Besides Prevention and Avoidance of cancer, any disease really, is incredibly less expensive than Treatment, and a whole lot safer too.
Many more doctors and health scientists are turning away from looking for cancer and more treatments and instead are looking into
the causes and preventions.
One of the Causes that is subtle and widespread in the industrialized nations is a new category causing cancer…it is called Environmental Toxins.
Environmental Toxins are being found almost everywhere and are growing in huge numbers and places, where they are getting into nearly every phase and aspects of our lives.
They claim there are now 80,000 man made chemicals and only a small percent have been approved as to safety by those agencies that do testing, the FDA being one.
The farms, the shelves in hardware stores, food ingredients, water, air, medicine ingredients, household products, women’s makeup, clothing, plastics, it’s almost endless where these chemicals can be found. Of course in our food, water, and air must be the most harmful it would seem.
Many of these chemicals are made from petroleum products like crude oil from oil wells and coal tar from coal mines. These petroleum based chemicals are all carcinogenic, cancer causing.
At least we know the source of some cancers, sadly they are ignored instead of avoided.
Our island’s West Side sprayed and over sprayed with Glyphosate a major ingredient in Roundup sprayed on the crops, and the Glyphosate is now determined to be a Cause of Cancer. There are thousands of cancer lawsuits waiting with some already awarding huge amount of millions of dollars to the cancer victims.
Yet people fought for its use instead of ridding the island of it. Yet humans are in tears, when told they, or a loved one, has Cancer, yet Roundup with Glyphosate is still sold at many outlets for household and garden use products. So much for proactive prevention.
People staring Cancer in the face right on the shelf at stores, and buying it instead of Avoiding it. Go figure. The Health of Human Life vs. the ease of killing weeds.
Same with food ingredients. Apparently it wil take more education.
We have a similar increase in chemicals as we do with increase in cancers…and other Environmental Toxin caused Diseases.
Toxic chemicals are running teammates of Disease, not competitors. One is literally feeding the other. Corporate Profits are in the equation.
Read the labels of your foods. Those big words are no joke.
Prevent Cancer, and Heart Disease and Stroke, Diabetes and Alzheimer’s…READ THE LABELS…! ! !
Mahalo,
Charles