The enthusiastic women of Cansa Polokwane Relay for Life 2009 created such a buzz that the first four guys already sacrificed their 12-month-old heads of hair for this good cause.

Thursday evening 21st May saw all congregate at Cansa in College Street to witness the shedding of the hair by of Peet Kruger of Soetdorings Lodge, Jono Vermaak of Kaya Mandi Game Farm and Theuns Nell and Geoff Parkinson of SA Breweries. Amanda of Slice Inc was the hairdresser entrusted with this mammoth task.

Around 100 people enjoyed the very special soup that Martha of Cansa makes and sherry was available for the people with the cold feet.

Jono Vermaak sold his much treasured beard for R500.

Sally Hansen addressed the Relay supporters and said the 2009 Relay for Life will be bigger than the previous one which were already the biggest in Africa. She gave a video presentation of the 2008 Cansa Polokwane Relay for Life which had 60 teams participate. Twenty teams already enrolled but the organisers are working to get 200 teams involved this year.

Registration is R500 per team and teams are encouraged to collect even more funds for Cansa. Al3 Boerdery of Dendron were the leaders in 2008 with their R40 000,00 collected.

This year, 10 000 paper bags with candles will be for sale at R10 each, so we can all commemorate someone who survived or died of cancer. This part of the event is a very emotional experience that gives the rest of us an opportunity to remember those who are most affected by Cancer. Rotary and Round Table will do the catering this year and Osieteddies and KFC will look after the small ones while their parents participate in the relay.

How Relay for Life started

In May 1985, Dr. Gordy Klatt, a Tacoma colorectal surgeon, spent a grueling 24 hours circling the track at Baker Stadium at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma USA for more than 83 miles. Throughout the night, friends paid $25 to run or walk 30 minutes with him. He raised $27,000 to fight cancer. That first year, nearly 300 of Dr. Klatt's friends, family, and patients watched as he ran and walked the course.

In 1986, 19 teams took part in the first team relay event on the track at the historical Stadium Bowl and raised $33,000.

What is a Relay for Life?

Relay teams consist of 8-15 people who will walk around the track relay style, keeping at least one team member on the track at all times.

Find out more about the Cansa Polokwane Relay for Life 2009

Sonja Randall of Absa manages the social media part of the campaign and is also tasked with finding teams to participate.
She put up

• a Facebook page for the Polokwane Relay and
• also manages a blog for the Polokwane Relay on MyPolokwane.com

where one can find all the info needed to participate.

With as many as 1 in 4 people who contracts this disease, it is one of thoses diseases that one cannot avoid by abstaining or any other act of will. One can reduce the risks with a healthy lifestyle and a responsible, healthy diet, but most of us know someone or is related to someone who has contracted some form of cancer. And those who has not been affected cannot count on remaining unaffected.

Cansa Polokwane Relay for Life is the one opportunity that we all have to show our solidarity against one of the most dreaded diseases.

And you only need to participate one night a year.

*Read about 26 cancers and view the haircut video here