When cancer survivors take their victory lap at Friday night's Relay For Life in Steinbach, Anne Friesen will again be one of the walkers.
    
Friesen was diagnosed with breast cancer ten years ago. Friesen says she vividly remembers that day. "I was totally shocked," she recalls. "There is no history of cancer in my family, my parents, my siblings, I was the first one in a family of ten that had cancer. Therefore to me it was just a shock, how can this be happening."

But Friesen says thankfully she found the lump early on, allowing her doctor to get a jumpstart on a diagnosis. Friesen says she had her husband and daughter there to help her make difficult decisions. Today she is cured from cancer.

Friesen has been taking part in Relay For Life for several years now. "I will never forget the first time I came," she recalls. Friesen says seeing all the survivors was very special. "But the most marvelous thing of the evening for me was when all us survivors with our yellow balloons walk up on top of the hill and give up our cares and our cancer, we give it up to God and release our balloons." Friesen says it's a feeling of relief to be able to give up all of these cares and to have the support of others.

Relay For Life takes place this Friday evening to Saturday morning at AD Penner Park in Steinbach. According to the website:

Every dollar you raise at Relay For Life helps the Canadian Cancer Society to have more impact, against more cancers, in more communities, than any other cancer charity in Canada. You are helping us to:

-fund life-saving cancer research so that more people survive cancer than ever before
-stop cancer before it starts by promoting healthy lifestyles and advocating for policies that protect our health
-ensure no one facing cancer is alone by offering compassionate services and support to those living with cancer and their families and friends
-empower Canadians with information about cancer to help them make informed choices about their health

Friesen says with all of the research that has been done, cancer can be defined much more in depth than ever before. "The treatment varies according to the specific that it is and the cells that need to be targeted and none of this would have been possible if we didn't have events like Relay For Life where all the funds were raised. So it is great."