I had the privilege of participating in the 32nd American Cancer Society Bakersfield Relay for Life last weekend. It was a very uplifting, hopeful, positive community event. I have been involved with this relay for the past 32 years and the emotional impact it has had on my life is something I will always treasure.
One of the greatest accomplishments that this event has given our community is the collaboration with the East Bakersfield Health Career Academy. This is the 20th year that I have worked with this amazing group of students, teachers, and staff. I have to give a great shout-out to their teacher, Eric Osborne and his staff partner, Leonor Ramirez, for the outstanding job they have done on educating their students on the cancer burden that impacts our community. These students come prepared to share their knowledge with all the attendees. For the past 20 years they have talked about research, advocacy, the dangers of tobacco, early detection, screening/guidelines and many other cancer facts and data.