Relay for Life is hitting especially close to home this year for junior Kristen Lammons.
Lammons, an elementary education major from St. Augustine, Florida, is finally got the chance to introduce her biggest supporters in Phi Nu to her fun-loving, warrior of a dad.
Lammons’ father was diagnosed with stage 4 mantle cell lymphoma her freshman year. After recently celebrating a year cancer-free, Mr. Lammons will be joining her at this year’s event as Phi Nu’s cancer survivor.
“I think he was really honored that we thought about him and reached out to him [to be our survivor],” Lammons said. “It’s so important to me to invite him into it that I think it’s important to him.”
“My dad is definitely a man’s man, we call him a businessman redneck,” Lammons said. “He’s just a great provider and that’s something I’ve always admired of him.”
Lammons said that even through her father’s rigorous chemotherapy schedule, he still remained supportive of their family and stayed true to his character.
“Watching him throughout all of that, even though he wasn’t feeling good and his personality was different, he still encouraged us and loved on us regardless,” Lammons said.
Despite a transitioning family during the journey, which included Lammons studying abroad and her sister getting married and moving across the country, Lammons said they still managed to grow closer as a family.
“It definitely brought our family close together and made us more real about being intentional with each other and spending time together,” Lammons said. “It was really awesome to watch my mom serve him. It made their marriage way stronger.”
Although her father’s first round of chemotherapy declared him cancer free, Mr. Lammons still needed a bone marrow transplant after he fully completed his treatments; however, after not being able to find a match, his bone marrow was recreated using his stem cells.
“After going through it, the research [Relay for Life] has done for things like stem cell transplants for bone marrow, that’s what they have created to save my dad’s life,” Lammons said.
Relay for Life continues to build a community of supporters for survivors, those battling cancer and their families. Lammons said that having the event on campus makes cancer real and helps break people out of their bubble.
“It’s encouraging, but scary, to think about that cancer doesn’t know an age limit, cancer doesn’t know a gender limit, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it,” Lammons said.
“That’s why it’s so important to have events like [Relay for Life] to continue to research one of the most leading causes of death in the world.”