Walkers hoping to stomp out cancer

Chris Padgett/.Participants walk around the track on Friday's Relay for Life event at Dixon High School.

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DIXON - Helping fight cancer can seem like a daunting prospect, Sarah Partington of Dixon said.

To take part in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, participants must assemble a team, raise money and walk all night and on into the morning.

"But when you get here, you realize why it's so worth it to do it," Partington said. "Just seeing the people who have gone through it makes it totally worth it."

More than 42 teams participated in the annual relay Friday at Dixon High School, bringing almost $20,000 in sponsorships. Organizers hope to raise $90,000 overall.

"I think it's awesome," said Jennifer Weiser, the event's co-chairwoman, who originally worried that a tornado watch might ruin the walk. "But I mean it turned out wonderfully. The weather is wonderful; we had a huge turnout."

Partington and Wolfe enjoyed the camaraderie.

"It's a lot of fun, in addition to being supportive of all the people who have been affected," said Partington's mother, Sheri Wolfe. "And it's a family event, so that's kind of fun, too."

The two women have an extensive family history of cancer, starting with the death of Wolfe's mother when Wolfe was a little girl.

"What family hasn't been affected by it?" Wolfe said.

Partington was one of hundreds of area residents who participated in the annual relay. Each had a story about how cancer touched his or her life.

The pink-clad "Julie's Angels" team walked in honor Julie Bolin, a math teacher from Ashton who died in April.

Christine Gaskill of Franklin Grove was Julie's sister-in-law, so for her, the walk had special meaning.

"It's definitely a passion of ours now, and we're going to keep our team going for as many years as possible," she said.

Watching a loved one undergo the treatment makes it difficult to stand idly by, said Gaskill, who was taking part in her second walk since Julie was diagnosed more than three years ago.

"After watching Julie go through what she went through, and other family members, I finally realized that ... while we're here we need to do what we can do," Gaskill said. "If that means doing what we can to raise money for cancer or letting people know that it affects every one of us, then that's what we're going to do."