Dannielle Swihart is a Relay For Life volunteer from Oswego, Illinois.  She has been involved with Relay For Life sine June, 2005, in memory of her mother.  "When I hear my mom's name called during the Luminaria Ceremony, I get a lump in my throat," she says.  "I walk so that other children will know their grandparents."

Dannielle's mother was a remarkable woman.  She gave everything she had for her family.  She taught Danielle what it means to sacrifice for your children.  She is the one who taught Danielle what it means to be a mom.  Danielle's mom was misdiagnosed with a rare disease in 2001.  Later, they found out that she had lymphoma, and it had gone undetected for a year and a half.  By then, she had been diagnosed with Merkel Cell Carcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer.  She fought hard and went through every treatment made available to her.  Unfortunately, she lost her battle with cancer.

Danielle's oldest daughter was only two years old at the time, and her other two children were unborn.  However, all three children know that they walk every year in memory of their Grandma Carol.  As her children grow older, Danielle has plans to become more involved with her local Relay For Life event.

Relay For Life offers a time for all of Danielle's family, including her siblings, nieces, nephews, husband, her father and her children, to come together once a year to remember her mom and what she did for all fo them.  Her whole family comes together from across the country to participate in Relay For Life...and to Fight Back against this disease that took their mom, wife, and grandmother.