Calabasas Relay for Life approaches
By Joann Groff joann@theacorn.com

When Katie Sanchez was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma on her 38th birthday, the thought that immediately crossed her mind was survival.

"As a single mother of three daughters, I had no idea how we were going to get through a major medical crisis," Sanchez said. "I had no intention of dying. I was going to do all that I could to leverage this experience as an opportunity to learn and grow as a person."

Now in remission at 41, Sanchez has turned her focus to helping others and sharing the knowledge that her difficult experience has taught her.

Sanchez became a volunteer for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life to be held June 23 in Calabasas.

"I wanted to find a way to contribute and help other people going through the journey," Sanchez said. "Helping other cancer patients is a way to turn a bad experience into something positive. In the process of undergoing treatment and finding my way to remission, I was stunned by how much support we received and how much the experience changed me as a person."

Sanchez is helping with event publicity and will be speaking at the opening ceremonies.

The 24-hour walkathon is held throughout the year in cities all across the nation as a means to raise money for the Cancer Society.

The local event will begin with a lap for cancer survivors, and later in the day, as the sun sets, a luminaria, or candlelighting vigil, will honor those who've lost their lives to the disease.

Sanchez walked in the 2003 Calabasas Relay for Life as a newly diagnosed cancer patient and walks the survivor's lap each year with her mother, Grace Henry, a 20year melanoma survivor.

Relay for Life is at Calabasas High School and starts at 10 a.m. The public is invited to participate.

The city of Calabasas has entered a team that is being run by councilmember Jonathan Wolfson and public works director Robert Yalda. The Relay organizers received a $7,000 grant from the city.

To learn more or to make a donation, visit the website www.relayforlife.org.