INUVIK - Inuvik teams have already started planning for the town's second annual Relay For Life to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society, with bake sales, barbecues and soon a pancake breakfast.

Cancer survivor Crystal Navratil, left, and Joyce Blake, both members of the Relay For Life planning committee, help out at the group's fundraiser held on April 30 at Aurora College. This is the second year for Relay for Life in Inuvik. - Samantha Stokell/NNSL photo

Inuvik's Relay for Life will be held on June 25 from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. at Chief Jim Koe Park. The event has participants walking laps all night long, to represent that they, like cancer, never sleep. The money raised goes towards cancer research.

Four teams held a group fundraiser at Aurora College on April 30. In addition to raising money, relay committee members are looking for volunteers to help out leading up to and during the event and hope teams and participants will register soon. If people register before May 14 at midnight, they will be entered for a chance to win Canadian North tickets.

"We want to meet or beat last year's numbers," said Joyce Blake, a member of the planning committee. "It's a community event and we get together to remember and celebrate the survivors."

In 2010, 15 teams registered and raised $68,000. This year Blake wants at least 20 teams and to hopefully raise more money than last year. With two months left, the Inuvik teams have raised $6,831.50.

So far Crystal Navratil has raised triple the amount of money of anyone else in Inuvik, $2,150. Navratil, 35, is a two-time cancer survivor and has been cancer-free for almost 20 years. She was diagnosed with the AML type of leukemia at 16 and faced chemotherapy, radiation and a bone marrow transplant, which saved her life.

"I just about died and it changed the way I think. Carpe diem: live each day to the fullest," Navratil said. "I participate in Relay to show it is possible to beat it and let people who are fighting it know from someone who has been there and been through it that they should keep the faith."

For Navratil, the most important part of the relay is supporting people currently battling the disease.

"When I was first diagnosed, a doctor said it really is 90 per cent attitude and 10 per cent medicine," Navratil said. "I think that can apply to a lot of things in life. A positive outlook can really help and I wouldn't have done so well without the support. A helping hand can make a difference."

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