Yellowknife (Apr 06/05) - Ashley West-Pratt has volunteered with the Canadian Cancer Society ever since she was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of 19.

Now 23 and living in Yellowknife, she told a crowd at the launch of the Relay for Life event this past weekend that the hardest part about having cancer is being a survivor when other family members have died of the disease.

She volunteers her time to helping others suffering with cancer because she wants to give something back to those who helped her in her fight.

Panning committee

West-Pratt is one of the members of a planning committee for the second annual Relay for Life to be held June 3-4 in Yellowknife.

She, along with other presenters, helped kick off the public launch of this year's event, April 2 at Javaroma.

Gisele Forget, event co-ordinator for the relay, hopes Ashley's story will dispel the myth that cancer only hits older people.

"Everybody is touched by cancer. Whether we want to ignore it or not, it's a reality," she said Saturday.

"It will touch them and hopefully make them more aware of what this is and bring them on board," said Forget, who shed a few tears during West-Pratt's presentation.

Attentive crowd

The crowd listening to speeches and reading information on Cancer at Javaroma was small, but attentive. It makes Forget optimistic about this year's event. Twenty-one teams competed in the 12-hour relay last year, lit by 1,500 luminary bags set up around the William McDonald track carrying the names and stories of survivors and victims of cancer.

The Yellowknife event raised $63,000.

The 2005 event is now open for registration, with four teams already registered for the summer stroll.