GILROY
– One team in this weekend’s Gilroy Relay for Life will have
everybody seeing spots.
GILROY – One team in this weekend’s Gilroy Relay for Life will have everybody seeing spots.
The Dalmatians, currently the team with the most cancer survivors, is a frisky group of more than 20 members returning for its second Gilroy Relay for Life. The team already has raised $8,500 toward its ambitious $10,000 goal.
“We’ve got a good team spirit,” Team Co-captain Andrew Jacobs said. “We kind of egg each other on a bit.”
The Dalmatians are one of 57 teams participating in this year’s Gilroy Relay for Life – 14 more teams than in 2003. The total fund-raising goal is $130,000 – up from $115,000 last year.
“This event has seen some really significant growth in the Gilroy community, and we’re really excited about it,” volunteer Ingrid Dick said. “It has just been a fantastic outpouring from the community.”
This year’s event will take place at the Christmas Hill Park Ranch Site starting at 10 a.m. Saturday with the opening ceremonies, which will include a speech by County Supervisor Don Gage. Cancer survivors will walk the first lap around the track. Afterward, each team is required to have a walker on the track throughout the 24-hour event.
The Dalmatians will be easy to notice in their floppy-eared Dalmatian baseball caps. The hats were so popular last year that the team is selling the hats for $5 each at this year’s event.
The Dalmatians also will host different dog-related events Saturday, such as pin the tail on the Dalmatian and Dalmatian face painting in the kids’ camp. One team member baked cookies shaped like dog bones.
“Very good indeed, tasty, too,” said Jacobs, who sampled some.
Profits from all of these activities will go toward the team’s final goal. Funds raised at the event go to cancer research and the American Cancer Society’s programs.
On a more serious note, the team’s 14 cancer survivors will carry the banner during the survivor lap of the opening ceremonies.
Jacobs will be among them. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in late 2001 while it was still in the early stages. He was surprised when the doctor discovered he had an enlarged prostate during a routine medical examination because he had no symptoms of prostate cancer. Symptoms include a difficulty in starting to pass urine, a weak flow of urine, a feeling that the bladder is not completely empty and, rarely, blood in the urine.
Prostate cancer is the second-most common cancer in men but also is highly treatable when diagnosed early.
Jacobs, 52 underwent mild chemotherapy and had surgery to remove his prostate in 2003.
“I am now in the let’s just keep a check and let’s see how things are going,” he said.
Last year about this time, he had been out of surgery for three months when he was recruited to join the Dalmatians.
“I was delighted to do it,” he said. “I was probably still at the stage where I was hoping everything was good, but not sure – but encouraged, so encouraged to hear the good stories from people, to see even people who were in the same boat as I was so positive.”
His wife and the team’s co-captain, Roslyn, said the Relay for Life was an emotional experience for both of them.
“As an observer, I defy anybody to stand there and not cry,” she said.
One of her favorite parts of Relay for Life is the luminaria ceremony, another tear-jerking moment when a series of bags with candles inside and the names of those who have died from cancer on the outside are lit around the track. The public is welcome to come to both the luminaria ceremony and the opening ceremonies.
Overall, Event Chair Gabe Nino expects more than 800 people to attend this year’s event. They can enjoy the live bands, such as J.J. Hawg, the Acoustic Preservation Society, the Corvairs and Los High Tops. All-night movies will return, and on Sunday Gilroy firefighters will feed people with a pancake breakfast.
It’s not too late to organize a team, Nino said.
“If people want to come and join us, we’ll take them right then and there,” he said.
Cancer survivors also can participate in the survivor lap and a special barbecue. They receive a free T-shirt, medal and gift.
This year, a special guest also will be in attendance. The CEO of the California Division of the American Cancer Society, Pat Felts, has said she’ll be on-hand.
“Things are happening in Gilroy,” Nino said.
But none of it would be possible without the efforts of the teams, such as the Dalmatians.
“You can tell by the hats. We’re going to have some fun out there,” Jacobs said. “We are going to enjoy ourselves; at the same time we’re raising a ton of money and awareness.”
