Support Valley's Relay for Life foot soldiers for a successful Moonshot

In January, President Barack Obama launched a noble and ambitious nationwide mission toward curing cancer over the next five years. The campaign, dubbed Moonshot, borrows from the lofty yet successful mission throughout the 1960s to land a man on the moon by the end of that decade.

Vice President Joe Biden, whose son Beau died last year of brain cancer, heads Mission Control in the campaign that has attracted a wide array of popular, political and medical support.

To succeed, however, this 21st- century Moonshot will need the assistance, energy and commitment of millions of American foot soldiers. Toward that end, the American Cancer Society’s annual Relay for Life events offer a golden opportunity for all to contribute in a highly visible and meaningful way to the success of the vice president’s compassionate campaign.

The 2016 Relay for Life season in the Mahoning Valley will launch this evening as hundreds gather at Beeghly Center at Youngstown State University for the traditional opening Relay in the Valley. The relays again this year take place weekends over the next few months. The robust schedule of two dozen events this year serve as a testament to their expansion and endurance. (A complete listing of Relays in the region can be found in Thursday’s Vindicator and on Vindy.com.)

Of course, long before the launch of this national Moonshot campaign, the purpose of the communitywide fundraisers for the American Cancer Society has been painfully evident.

Despite colossal progress in fighting cancer in recent years, the debilitating disease continues to cut short the lives of 1,500 residents of the Mahoning Valley each year, according to the Ohio Department of Health’s “Cancer in Ohio” report. That report also shows that even though cancer rates in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties have stabilized in recent years, they have not fallen nearly as quickly as in many other counties in the state.

SCOPE, IMPACT OF RELAYS

Armed with such facts, support for the ACS and success for its principal fundraiser take on added significance today. The tens of thousands who participate annually in the walking and running marathons at tracks, stadiums, gymnasiums and other venues exert energy to raise awareness of cancer’s devastating impact, assist its survivors and expedite research for cures. They are a part of 3.2 million cancer fighters in 5,200 Relay communities nationwide.

Locally, ACS Relay for Life officials, organizers and volunteers have brought a healthy and much-needed dose of positive attention to the Valley as a leader in the fundraising campaigns. Events in Warren and Boardman, for example, typically rank among the most successful in the state and nation.

More importantly, Relay participants can take pride in providing critical reinforcements to the ongoing war on cancer. The indomitable spirit of cancer survivors, patients, caregivers and donors help to raise more than $1 million annually in our region. The bulk of those dollars stays in the community to support survivors and caregivers with myriad support services.

Considering the toll that cancer extracts, those services are sorely needed. Ohio Health Department data show that about 65,000 Ohioans are diagnosed with cancer annually, and about 25,000 die statewide from it. Overall, cancer death rates in the Buckeye State rank about 9 percent higher than the national rate.

Despite such discouraging data, hope cannot be dashed. Thanks in part to the efforts of Relay allies, survival from cancer continues to increase. The five-year survival rate for all cancers nationwide is about 70 percent, compared with 50 percent three decades ago.

Such reports provide momentum for Relay participants and supporters. But clearly more work remains. That means Relay organizers must work this year to garner increased participation and greater monetary pledges.

This year, Relays carry the added incentive of actively joining a cause that is uniting Americans of all walks of life under a common humanitarian banner. As such, here’s hoping that the Mahoning Valley’s Relay for Life 2016 season will go the distance to draw our nation just a little bit closer to a successful landing five years from now in Biden’s ambitious Moonshot initiative.