A fundraiser for cancer care has this year collected the second-largest amount of donations in its 11-year history.

Relay For Life gathered $562,363 in donations from its thousands of participants – and donations continue until the end of this month.

Deborah Titterton-Narraway, the chief marketing officer for the Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre, called the turnout “rejuvenating”.

She added: “We’ve had some doubts about whether or not we could keep this event going, just because of how much work it takes.

“But it shows us that the community’s still here and the community’s still looking to support teams who come out.

“So the community support reinvigorated us as a centre to maybe keep this going.”

This year 105 teams took part in Relay For Life to walk in honour of those who have faced cancer head-on, regardless of whether or not they won their fights.

The first leg of the 18-hour fundraiser started on Friday with a survivor’s walk at the National Sports Centre in Devonshire.

The walk was followed by a Lumaria ceremony, where attendees lit a candle in a moment of reflection in honour of a loved one who died from cancer.

Ms Titterton-Narraway admitted on Saturday that Relay For Life was a “very expensive event to put on” and that the goal was to make sure that sponsors could cover much of the event.

She added that, despite her concerns, the sponsor donations exceeded the costs of the event by $80,000.

Ms Titterton-Narraway said she expected to face fatigue by the 11th year, particularly when it came to collecting the necessary amount of volunteers.

However, she said that this year’s turnout had reminded organisers of the importance of their work.

Ms Titterton-Narraway explained: “We had a group this year called Paul’s Legacy – where would they go if we didn’t continue this to celebrate Paul’s Legacy?

“Where would we, at a large scale, introduce young people to cancer volunteering, which is something we see being lost?”

A full count of the funds received will take place after May 30 when the donation window closes.

Cash from corporations, many of which match donations to double the initial amount of cash received, is expected to be received at about this time.