Countdown to Relay

To the editor:
    The Aroostook County Relay for Life is coming to the Caribou High School track in just 37 days! This 16-hour event raises money for the American Cancer Society which is a nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy and service.
    Since 1946, the American Cancer Society has invested more than $3.6 billion in scientific research to help understand cancer’s causes, determine how to best prevent it, and find new cures. In New England alone there is currently over $59 million invested by the American Cancer Society in research; this includes a $720,000 grant to the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor.
    We are working to create a world with more birthdays, a world where no one has to hear those three words “you have cancer.” An impressive 79 cents of every dollar raised goes directly to fund programs and services. Last year in Maine, 3,100 people received services sponsored by the American Cancer Society; that includes one out of every five newly diagnosed cancer patients.
    Our Aroostook Relay is scheduled for June 1-2; we already have 55 teams registered but we want this event to be even bigger than last year when we raised over $120,000. That means we need your help. Go to www.relayforlife.org/aroostookme to create or join at team.
 For more information about the Aroostook Relay you can also contact Mike Hart at mike.hart@cancer.org
Lisa Leduc
Presque Isle