Mayor Fouts attended and spoke at a very worthwhile event at Warren City Hall for the American Cancer Society’s “Relay for Life” event.  Mayor Fouts was impressed to meet and see many cancer survivors and noted that the battle against cancer is being won in part because of the research and effort put forth by the nearly 1/2 billion dollars raised by this type of event every year!

 

Mayor Fouts also spoke briefly with Ed, a five year cancer survivor, who is determined to win this battle at the age of 87.

For over eight years, Mayor Fouts has been participating in the Relay For Life Event which brings “communities together to remember loved ones lost, honor survivors of all cancers, and raise money to help the American Cancer Society make a global impact on cancer”.

People who volunteer and attend this event are high energy and spiritual people. They are determined to do whatever it takes to beat cancer. The data shows that there are at least 14 million cancer survivors. The five year survival rate for cancer survivors has gone up by nearly 20% in the past decade.

That’s real progress! Their mission is three things:

1)CELEBRATE what cancer survivors and their families have overcome!

2)REMEMBER people lost to the disease and honor people who have fought or are fighting cancer. Mayor Fouts remembers his mother who died of cancer related complications over 10 years ago. The Mayor also remembers Mayor Richard Notte, who passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2014.  Mayor Fouts would also like to honor people such as 87 year old Ed, who is winning the battle against cancer, and Joanne, the wife of supporter Ray Santowski, who is waging a particularly challenging fight against cancer.

3)FIGHT BACK -This event inspires Relay participants to fight back against a disease that has taken too much.

Mayor Fouts is confident that events like the “Relay for Life” will help find a cure for this dreaded disease that affects so many and their families who see the suffering that their loved ones go through.

This is a “David and Goliath” battle but Mayor Fouts is confident that ultimately David ( American Cancer Society and their supporters ) will defeat Goliath ( cancer).

Note: There is hardly a person today that does not know someone whether it’s a family member, friend, or neighbor who has or is currently battling this disease. We all have a stake in this battle so Mayor Fouts hopes we will all contribute.

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Also, a special thanks goes out to Henry Bowman, Warren Recreation Director, who was up early to clean up the stage area from unexpected weather.