A GROUP of maidens has been bowled over by the support from the North-West community after raising a whopping $200,000 to help Tasmanians with cancer.
The Mersey Maidens Relay for Life team has been taking part in the Cancer Council’s annual fundraising event for 15 years.
But after their marathon innings, the North-West women are handing over the baton this year to a new generation of relayers.
Mersey Maidens team member Lyn Johnson, from Devonport, said the women were all working at Mersey Community Hospital in 2002 when they formed the relay team after a colleague was diagnosed with cancer.
“We decided to do one the next year for our friend and in the meantime I became a cancer survivor myself,” said the retired midwife, who had her left leg amputated below the knee after a sarcoma diagnosis in 2001.
“Since then, all of us have been touched by cancer, with members being diagnosed with breast cancer and melanoma.”
Lyn, 69, said living through cancer motivated her. “My laps got quicker every year,” she said, describing the 15-year fundraising journey as an “an amazing experience”.
“We have lost a few members along the way, but we are there to support each other and I think it is a wonderful event,” she said.
One of the best things about doing the Relay for Life at Penguin was the camaraderie.
“You walk around the track and you get to know your other workmates that you might only see in passing. It is a very bonding experience.”
And Lyn’s family and grandchildren, who were only young when she started, have backed her and the team all the way.
“It has made my grandkids more aware about community and other people in need.
“Now we’re all getting to retiring age and we have a few health issues, so it's time to hand over the reins.”
As the women prepared for their last relay, Cancer Council chief executive Penny Egan said the efforts were truly amazing. “It takes some wonderful people with energy, passion and, of course, time to be able to devote to an event such as this,” she said.
