Nina Ovrahim

Why I Relay

Cancer has taken the lives of too many people I love. 

As a young woman with a strong maternal history of cancer, who lost her aunt to breast cancer detected too late, and her grandmother to leukemia, the work we do at Relay for Life to fundraise for essential research and services gives me hope that the future may not be so bleak. I Relay for my Aunt Lou, who was a loving teacher, daughter, sister, and friend, for my Grandma Nahrin, who was a loving mother, sister, and wife, and for all who have been affected by cancer. I Relay so we may never have to use the word “was” to refer to our loved ones.

The funds I am raising will sustain critical research and provide transportation and lodging for cancer patients and their families. Cancer research is vital to the fight. 

In the last half-century alone, 

• NIH-supported research has helped identify major breast cancer subtypes based on tumors’ molecular features, which enables treatments to be tailored to the cancers’ specific molecular profiles. This has contributed to the 41% drop in breast cancer death rates for patients between 1990 and 2019.

• Researchers at NIH have played a significant role in developing cancer chemotherapy and testing various combinations of chemotherapy drugs. This led to effective treatments for many forms of cancer and a dramatic increase in childhood cancer survival rates from 52% in 1950 to 85% today.

• For breast cancer in women, the 5-year survival increased from 72.7% between 1975 and 1979 to 87.4% between 2010 and 2015, and the corresponding 5-year breast-cancer-specific survival and 5-year relative survival increased from 74.0% to 88.5% and from 73.1% to 87.9%, respectively. 

Right now in the United States,

• 1 in 8 women gets breast cancer 

• 1 in 3 women will develop cancer 

• 1 in 2 men will develop cancer 

The numbers are appalling, but with funding, we could work to combat this pervasive disease.

Our goal is that one day, no one ever has to hear the words "You have cancer." The results are real. And if we want a future with more birthdays, more reasons to celebrate, and more ways to fight, we must support the cause. 

Please believe me when I say every dollar truly does count. I am asking you to help us create this future—please donate today.