Showing up for life: Relay For Life 2026 launches with message of hope, healing and community
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The fight against cancer is not fought only in hospitals or treatment rooms. It is fought in homes, in communities, in quiet moments of fear, and through the support of people who refuse to let patients and families face the journey alone.
That message was at the heart of the launch of Relay For Life 2026, hosted by the Jamaica Cancer Society under the theme ‘Wild For A Cure’.
The event, scheduled for Saturday, June 6 at the Police Officers’ Club from 4 p.m. to midnight, marks the 25th anniversary of Relay For Life in Jamaica, a movement that the organisers say has become a symbol of courage, remembrance, survivorship, and community support.
Delivering one of the evening’s most powerful addresses, Chief Executive Officer of Bellevue Hospital Suzette Buchanan reminded attendees that cancer affects far more than the body.
“There are some phone calls that change your schedule, and then there are phone calls that change your life. The call that says, ‘It’s cancer.’ In that moment, time slows, breathing changes, families freeze, and suddenly the future feels uncertain,” she said.
She described cancer as an illness that interrupts lives without warning. “Cancer does not knock politely. It interrupts graduations, weddings, dreams, peace, and before chemotherapy even begins, fear often starts attacking the mind,” Buchanan said.
Buchanan stressed that healing must extend beyond medicine and include emotional and psychological support for patients and caregivers alike. “Cancer never battles one person alone. It affects households, marriages, children, finances, sleep, faith, and mental wellness,” she said.
She noted that many cancer patients silently struggle with anxiety, depression, trauma, and emotional exhaustion long after treatment ends. “Some survivors ring the bell after treatment, yet still go home emotionally exhausted because long after chemotherapy ends, fear can remain, anxiety can remain, and trauma can remain,” she said.
Buchanan urged Jamaicans to normalise conversations around mental health support for cancer patients and caregivers. “We must normalise therapy, support groups, emotional check-ins, rest, community support, and asking people, ‘How are you coping mentally?’ not just ‘How is treatment going?’”
Throughout her presentation, Buchanan emphasised the importance of community and compassion during illness.
“People suffer differently when they suffer alone. Sometimes, showing up means answering the phone, driving someone to treatment, sitting quietly beside a hospital bed, sending encouragement, or simply refusing to disappear when life gets difficult,” she said.
According to Buchanan, Relay For Life represents more than a fundraising event. “The relay is not just a walk. It is love moving on foot. No one carries the baton forever. At some point, someone carries you, and that is the power of community,” she said.
Chairman of the Jamaica Cancer Society, Earl Jarrett, also addressed attendees, while Executive Director Roshane Reid Koomson thanked volunteers, survivors, caregivers, sponsors, and supporters who have sustained the initiative over the years.
“Cancer is everyone’s business. There are some of us who are deeply committed because cancer has touched us, our families, our friends, or our communities,” Koomson said.
She praised volunteers who continue to support the Jamaica Cancer Society’s work in advocacy, education, screening, and patient support. “As we launch Relay For Life 2026 under the theme ‘Wild For A Cure’, we are calling on Jamaica to show up boldly, compassionately, and collectively in the fight against cancer,” she said.
Koomson, also highlighted one of the organisation’s major priorities, including acquiring a new mammography machine to improve breast cancer screening services across Jamaica.
“Our current machine is approaching the end of its useful life, and early detection remains one of the best fighting chances against breast cancer and other types of cancers,” she explained. She pointed out that many Jamaicans still struggle to access mammography services, particularly outside Kingston.
“There are parishes in Jamaica that do not have ready access to mammography services,” Koomson said. “Some persons have to travel to Kingston or another parish, and sometimes the machine closest to them may be down.”
She noted that securing a modern state-of-the-art mammography machine is one of the major goals Relay For Life will help support. Koomson also welcomed recent announcements by Dr Christopher Tufton, minister of health and wellness, regarding plans for a cancer centre in central Jamaica aimed at improving diagnostics and treatment services.
“That is significant news for us as a country. We will continue to support and hold the process to account until it becomes a reality,” she said.
As preparations continue for Relay For Life 2026, the organisers are encouraging Jamaicans to participate by forming teams, fundraising, volunteering, sponsoring activities, and supporting cancer awareness initiatives.
“Every sponsorship matters. Every donation matters. Every lap walked matters. Every act of support tells someone, ‘You are not abandoned,” Koomson said.
Relay For Life 2026 will feature survivor celebrations, remembrance activities, entertainment, fundraising initiatives, and community participation in support of cancer awareness, early detection, and patient care across Jamaica.