Survivors of cancer and their supporters came together this evening as Relay For Life of Bermuda got under way at the National Sports Centre.

Up to 4,000 people were expected to take to the track over the course of the 24-hour fundraiser, which also celebrates the memories of loved ones lost to the disease.

The event aims to raise awareness and funds to help provide access to cancer prevention, early detection, treatment and support provided by Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre.

Cavon Burchall, one of two 2023 Global Heroes of Hope, said that for the past 13 years he was treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer that develops in the lymphatic system, which is part of the body’s immune system.

The 34-year-old said: “I had 36 tumours when I was 21.”

He started treatment in Bermuda, but continued it with Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore.

Mr Burchall explained: “Each day is different but I have a 13-year-old son, named Mataio, so he pushes me on to be strong and go through it all.

“He was born in the February, I was diagnosed in the November of that year, so it was rough, but it builds character right?”

Mr Burchall had a bone-marrow transplant that was deemed a 100 per cent match about 18 months ago and recently returned from a checkup in Baltimore.

He said: “I’m clear, I’m just dealing with a little bit of inflammation. I just have to continue taking the medication and starting to do more exercise and eat a better diet.”

He added: “When I left my oncologist he said I had no signs, they didn’t ask me to come back.”

Mr Burchall, previously a stevedore, said he and his family sold raffle tickets to raise funds for the cause and he was nominated to be a hero this year, alongside Ernest Signor.

He added: “Being two guys from St George’s is kind of cool.”

Mr Burchall said: “I just hope I can inspire anybody by just being resilient. This is life, you’re going to have a tough journey. It is what it is.”

Gary Fraser, a 72-year-old survivor of kidney and prostate cancer, and wife Joann were at their first Relay for Life.

He said: “It means a lot to me – to be alive, to able to tell my story, to be able to encourage someone else to get checked. Don’t wait for symptoms.

“I would support anyone and I wish I could talk more to men, especially when it comes to prostate, and educate them.”

The retired nursing aide added: “I know that without God and without my wife I wouldn’t be here, from the kidney cancer.”

Mrs Fraser, who lost a sister to cancer more than 30 years ago, said it was humbling to see those that beat the disease at the event.

She added: “I wanted [my husband] to be around other survivors, people that have gone through or are going through what he is, and to be a part of the community.”

Azuree Williams, a Relay for Life event chairwoman, said between 2,000 and 4,000 people were expected at the North Field over the course of the fundraiser.

She added that reaching the start line after about nine months of planning was “very gratifying and a relief at the same time”.

Ms Williams said seeing the event unfold was a moving experience.

She added: “It’s definitely emotional for all of the committee members because we see the emotions of our community throughout the entire 24 hours. We see joy, we see sadness and we see fight, so it’s a lot.”

Ms Williams said the goal was to raise $500,000 from the event, which has brought in more than $6 million since it was first held in 2014.

The Relay for Life website said that 97 per cent of the money supported Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre’s Equal Access Fund, “ensuring that everyone can utilise the centre’s services – mammography, ultrasound, breast and prostate biopsies and radiation therapy – without a co-pay, regardless of their level of health insurance or ability to pay”.

It added: “Three per cent of the funds go to Global Relay for Life’s cancer control initiatives worldwide.”

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