The Omnibus

Issue date: 5/6/04 Section: Feature

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Almost everyone has been touched by cancer. Whether it was a friend, family member or distance acquaintance, most people know about lives changed by this disease. For Southwest Baptist University sophomore Kendra Dotson, that life is her own.

Media Credit: Diana Jordan As a cancer surviver, sophomore Kendra Dotson wants to support cancer research by organizing a Relay for Life at SBU.

In the last semester of her senior year of high school, Dotson was diagnosed with cancer. After surgically removing a large tumor, doctors were going to wait to start chemotherapy; however, they discovered the cancer had moved to her liver and started Dotson on aggressive chemotherapy treatment.

"People our age normally don't think about cancer," Dotson said. "You see older people, like grandparents, with it, so it was kind of a shock because we didn't expect it at all."

After three months of chemotherapy, the cancer was eradicated, and Dotson has been cancer-free for two years this month. Instead of sitting back and enjoying her regained health, she actively pursues a cure for the disease that changed her life and the lives of so many others. To accomplish this goal, Dotson decided to start a Relay for Life at SBU.

While attending Baker University last year, Dotson was so touched by the response to the Relay for Life they hosted that she wants to organize the same event for SBU students.

The Relay for Life events are conducted directly under the American Cancer Society organization. Bolivar already hosts an annual Relay for Life, but that event takes place in the summer when the majority of SBU students cannot participate. When Dotson decided to start her own, she talked to an American Cancer Society representative and organizers of the Bolivar event who were very supportive.

"No one on campus gets involved in the Bolivar one because it's in the summer, so I think the response from students will be better when we do it," Dotson said.

Director of Student Activities Courtney Stalker is helping to make the Relay for Life an official SBU event. Dotson's twin sister Kyla serves as co-chair with her. An event of this magnitude needs more participants, so an organizational meeting will be held next week.

"We need team leaders; we need teams; we need people to be on a committee; we need all kinds of people," Dotson said. "This is all student-run. I'm hoping lots of people will come."

The SBU Relay is set to take place in April 2005 and will include a 12-hour relay and camp out. Teams will be made up of 8-15 people, each having raised at least $100. Each team will have a theme and a camp site, and there will be a competition for the best decorated camp site. Local businesses will donate prizes to be won throughout the night. The event will be more than fun and games, though, and it starts with an emotional reminder of the reason everyone is there.

"The first lap is a survivor lap," Dotson said. "It makes you realize that this is what we do this for. It's all about hope. It's about the fact that these people had a chance to make it. We're fighting for the cure for this. There are so many people affected by it."

Dotson believes SBU students should get involved in the Relay for Life because of the prevalence of the disease it fights to heal.

"Most people know someone who has cancer, had cancer or died from cancer," Dotson said. "It's kind of a wake-up call. It's a good way to raise money, but it's also a way to honor people and realize what it's all about for us to be there for each other."

Though cancer may not be a part of most people's everyday lives, this event brings the issue to widespread attention.

"I think anybody can give up 12 hours of their life to a cause this great," Dotson said. "On a campus like this, I think people really have a heart for it."

The kick-off meeting for the first SBU Relay for Life will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. Monday, May 10 in Davis Theatre. Free pizza and pop will be provided. Those interested in participating should contact Stalker at cstalker@sbuniv.edu by 2 p.m. on Friday, May 7 so sufficient pizza can be ordered.

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