“I feel like I am doing something, even if there is nobody there to see it.”
Megan Goetken has been participating in Prince George’s Relay For Life for as long as she can remember, and the fact that the event was permanently cancelled this year is not stopping her from raising money for the Canadian Cancer Society and walking for a full 24-hours.
On Saturday, August 26th, Goetken will be walking laps of the CN Centre parking lot – something she did last year as well – despite the cut-back Relay For Life only running for 8 hours that year.
“It is just me doing it by myself,” she said. “Sadly it is not going to be a massive event like it has been in the past.”
“I started [relay] with my Grandpa, walking the survivor lap when I was younger,” she explained. “He taught me that the beginning of the walk, as you dread walking for that long, that represents being told you have cancer. Midway, you are starting to lose hope. The end represents remission, that final lap feels so good.”
According to her Canadian Cancer Society donation page, Goetken’s grandpa passed away in 2019.
“I’ve been to lots of events in Prince George, but I have never been to an event where I felt so seen, heard, and understood as I did at relay,” she continued. “I want that back for Prince George.”
Goetken has given the community an open invite to join in for parts, or all of the 24-hour walk, which she is calling the Stronger Than Cancer Walk.
“Maybe in the future we can either bring relay back, or turn the Stronger Than Cancer Walk into something Prince George can enjoy together,” she said. “[At Relay] I met so many people. And throughout the night, all the people walking, you are never by yourself. That is what makes this so daunting, I am by myself.”
She will begin her walk at 11:00 on Saturday morning, and will finish at 11:00 on Sunday.
You can find out more information on Goetken’s story and walk, as well as make a donation, here.