The annual Relay for Life event has brought vital aid to Bermudians lacking insurance coverage, a Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre spokeswoman said.

The 2019 relay is to be launched today at City Hall, when this year’s theme will be announced.

Now in its sixth year, the 24-hour walk dedicated to cancer fighters, survivors and caregivers has raised millions.

Deborah Titterton Narraway, the BCHC’s chief marketing officer, said that there was “no out-of-pocket payment” for patients coming to the charity who were underinsured or who did not have health insurance.

Patients’ treatment can be subsidised through the organisation’s Equal Access Fund, which gets a major funding boost through the Relay for Life.

Last year, more than $780,000 was raised at the relay — all of it going to the Equal Access Fund to cover diagnostic services and radiation treatment.

Close to $3 million has been raised over the past five years of Relay for Life, Ms Titterton Narraway said.

Its first four years drew $2.2 million towards the building of a $10 million Radiation Therapy Unit. The unit can treat 95 per cent of cancers where radiation is recommended, allowing residents to get care on the island.

Ms Titterton Narraway said: “Being able to do it at home where people are still able to go shopping, still able to go to work, to celebrate a birthday with family, adds so much to the quality of life.”

The financial assistance offered to those who are uninsured or underinsured have also helped patients to cope.

Ms Titterton Narraway said: “When patients find out they don’t have to pay anything from pocket, that is such a huge weight taken off their shoulders.”

She added that at least 82 of the 226 courses of treatment carried out over the past 18 months in the Radiation Therapy Unit went to patients who were either uninsured or underinsured.

This allowed patients to receive $2.4 million worth of radiation therapy, courtesy of the Equal Access Fund.

The cost of radiation treatment depends on the type of cancer and the course of treatment required.

Treatment can range from $5,000 to $10,000 for pain management and upwards of $100,000 for treatment of prostate cancer.

“For patients who don’t have insurance to show up at the doctor and hear that you have cancer, no matter what stage of life you are in, not many people plan for the cost of cancer treatment,” Ms Titterton Narraway said.

In the past two years, BCHC has subsidised over $2.5 million in diagnostic services and radiation therapy. “Relay for Life plays a huge role in raising funds — it’s raising funds to support our community,” Ms Titterton Narraway said.

She added: “Relay for Life is all about the community, celebrating survivorship, remembering those whom we have lost and fighting back against cancer.”

She said the large support yearly “speaks volume to what the community will do to support each other”.

Over the years, the insurer Liberty Mutual, formerly Ironshore, has been the top sponsor, contributing more than $488,000 through corporate sponsorship, combined with the work of its staff.

This year’s relay is to be held on May 17 and 18.