Dear Editor,
Cancer is a disease that does not discriminate. It is a disease that has touched, or will touch, all of us in our lifetime.
In 2008, we learned my husband had metastatic kidney cancer. My husband and I both have the privilege to work for Great Southern Bank, which has demonstrated its generous support for the Relay For Life of Springfield event for the past six years. Great Southern not only supports this fight but also has supported our family every step of our journey.
Great Southern's sponsorship is so much more than a logo on a T-shirt. It is about the thousands who gather each year for the Relay For Life of Springfield event to celebrate, remember and fight back.
My involvement with Relay For Life spans nearly 10 years. During the early years of my involvement with the Relay For Life of Springfield event, several cancer treatment drugs were approved by the Food and Drug Administration and would become a vital part of our family's story. The research funded by Relay For Life, including the Springfield event, has been vital to my husband's treatment during the past six months.
Relay is about hope. It is about a cure. Through advocacy, scientists and researchers will be provided with the tools to make this a reality.
Finally, it's about a community that takes up the fight. It is people and businesses throughout our community that continue to join together to pursue a common goal, even during these difficult economic times.
On March 13, the American Cancer Society will present a Relay For Life sponsors' breakfast. We invite you to attend this important event and learn more about becoming a Relay For Life sponsor. For more information, contact Allison Kraft at (417) 447-1474.[[In-content Ad]]
-Shannon Thomason,
director of internal audit and compliance, Great Southern Bank
