Cancer never stops and this weekend fundraisers to fight it won't either. A walk that begins Friday evening and goes through Saturday morning will help local residents raise money and awareness in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life event.

Relay for Life will kick off at 6:45 p.m. Friday at the Newberry High School football field. The event will continue until 7 a.m. Saturday.

The highlights of the evening will include the opening at 6:45 p.m. Friday, the survivors' lap at 7 p.m. and the luminary service at 10 p.m. The luminary ceremony includes the reading of all the names of cancer survivors and victims who were honored and remembered by luminaries purchased in their names this year. The closing ceremony will be at 6:45 a.m. Saturday.

“Celebrate, remember and fight back,“ says local chairperson Angela Bowers of the event.

In addition to the special moments, there will be ongoing food sales, inflatable amusements for the children, and games.

Bowers says this year's walk is going better than ever. So far, 44 teams are raising money and 40 of those teams will have camp sites on the football field.

“This is the most teams we have had in years,“ said Bowers, who was diagnosed with cancer seven years ago. “I am so excited that the community has come together for this.“

Local cancer doctors and nurses will be at the event to field questions and provide information about the disease.

The goal of the county's teams is to raise $100,000. More than $60,000 has been turned in so far. Last year's event raised more than $70,000.

While one of the big goals of the event is to increase cancer awareness, the money raised will be used locally for new services.

One of those new services is the “Look Better, Feel Better” program, which teaches women with cancer about how to take care of their skin.

Other programs provide free wigs for those with cancer and support groups.

Bowers said one group is the women's support group she leads at night on the third Tuesday of the month at the Behavioral Health Services office on Pondfield Road.

Bowers adds that it is not too late to participate in the event.

Money can be given at Relay for Life or at her office at Newberry County Memorial Hospital.

Luminaries in honor or memory of someone can be purchased for $10 throughout the walk.

Bowers encourages survivors to come to the high school for the survivors' lap. Golf carts will be available, if needed, to take survivors around the track.