Easton Relay For Life Aims for $132,000

Last year, during the Relay for Life of Easton, the skies opened and dumped rain on Metzgar Field.

But that didn't stop the teams at the American Cancer Society fundraiser from walking.

One of them, Matthew Walters, walked for 12 hours in the rain in memory of his mother, who died of lung and liver cancer.

On Friday, as the Relay for Life came back to the stadium in Forks Township for its 11th year, Walters and his family—AKA "Team Mama Walters"—were ready to walk again. Matthew Walters had a way to keep them together in the wake of their matriarch's death.

"We've always been a tight-knit family," he said. "My mom was pretty much the foundation of that." 

Every team had stories like that. A few tents away, a team called Heather's Hope sold crafts, small painted stones with the word "hope" or the pink cancer ribbon painted on them.

The Heather in question is Heather Siebler, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 10 years ago, but is today cancer free.

The Relay is a bittersweet experience for her.

"It takes me back to when I was diagnosed, and when I was going through chemo," she said.

At the same time, Siebler said she's begun to treasure seeing her fellow survivors every year. 

The relay was scheduled to run until noon Saturday. Organizers hope to raise $132,000 this year, with 470 people from 37 teams participating.