News-Aegis
Moody/Leeds — Leeds/Moody Relay for Life’s Greg Willingham of Moody has been fighting for the cure for over four years. Cancer has been a battle that has affected both he and his young family on a very personal level. Today, he Relays in memory of his wife, Samantha who lost her battle on December 28, 2007.
“Her story is one of strength and courage,” Greg said.
Samantha battled skin cancer early in her and Greg’s marriage. At the time, the couple had one child. After surgery to remove the cancer, life went on for the Willinghams. They went on to have another child thinking the cancer was over. However, it was not. In 2006, the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. Greg said Samantha went through the loss of hair, a cocktail of chemotherapy drugs and bouts of sickness.
“Through all this she continued to show her courage,” he said. “She continued to smile and remain beautiful.”
In the following months, the Willinghams thought the battle was once again over. It was not. This time the cancer had spread to Samantha’s spine, liver, lungs and bones. Greg said her strength returned and she fought the battle once again, but to no avail. Samantha lost her battle at 35 years old. Her children were ages nine and six.
“Even though we lost her, she won the war because she is cancer free ... forever,” he said adding a strong faith in God is what got them through. “She lost her battle, but there is no reason for me to stop, so I just keep on going.”
He will be the first to tell anyone that cancer is a wretched disease, but today he fights for those lost and those who survive.
Greg serves as the survivorship and sponsorship chairman of the Relay for Life committee in Leeds and Moody. He is also a member of the team Hope for Tomorrow.
Greg said sponsorship is about getting businesses and individuals behind the cause and survivorship is about making sure all survivors are recognized for their fight.
“We want to celebrate what they have come through and conquered and show them that there are a lot of people out there going through the same thing,” he said. Greg said the Relay for Life theme this year is “celebrating more birthdays, the longer we fight the more birthdays we have.”
He adds when it comes to Relay for Life there is one goal – continued growth.
“We want to bring the whole community together,” he said. “We want to bring in everyone we can. Whether businesses small or large, individuals, people who are going through cancer, people who are not going through cancer, anybody we can get to join the effort so that we can show them there is a place to find help when it comes to cancer. The money we raise is there to fund the cures, the awareness and the research.”
Greg asked that any business or survivor interested in taking part in the event to come out and join in the activities. A luminaria ceremony will take place in honor of those who are or have battled the disease. The Relay teams sell bags, in which they put the names of those honored. They then put a glow stick inside the bags and at a certain point in the celebration the lights will be turned out and everyone will have a special time to remember those who have every faced the battle.
Greg said Relay for Life means opening your eyes to the bigger picture.
“It made me realize that there is something out there that destroys these families and destroys lives,” he said. “You never expect the worst outcome, but being involved with Relay for Life helps you cope. You realize you do not want other families to go through the same issues. I don’t want another family to lose their mom, to lose their wife, to lose their child. It is tough enough in this world as it is now. Cancer destroys.”
“We have to help the people who are going through it, cope with it and give them as much information as we can about it and then raise as much money as we can to fight it,” he said. “Hopefully one day, and it may take awhile, but maybe we will cure it.”
For sponsorship, survivorship and additional information contact Greg Willingham at gwillingham@windstream.net.
