Patricia Morales has been a Relay For Life participant sine 1999 as a team captain. She quickly became the Luminaria Chair, serving in that role for a couple of years. When her Relay For Life event got its own website, she was able to lend her online talents to become the Online Chair, eventually becoming the Event Chair. Patricia now volunteers for three Relay For Life events in her area, and is a facilitator for the L.A. North and L.A. South Relay Universities.

To Patricia, the most important aspect of Relay For Life is that it is non-discriminatory. "Relay allows a hugely diverse community to come together for one common purpose...to wipe out cancer," says Morales. "All ages, all races, all religions can unite in this event to celebrate that we are still here, remember those who have lost their fight, and fight back in honor of those who may not have the strength to do so."

Through her participation in Relay For Life, Patricia always remembers her mother, who raised 5 children, helped care for grandchildren as well as many family friends. When Patricia's mother was diagnosed with cancer, she refused to give up. She was a bowler, and continued to bowl in her bowling leagues throughout her battle. She shopped as often as she felt up to it. She figured out ways to match her turban to her clothes every day, using fancy pins and pretty fabric swatches to match her outfit. She never stopped living her life.

The Luminaria Ceremony affects Patricia every year. Patricia can't help but to cry as she walks along the track. The candlelight takes her back to the Relay For Life event that she attended one month after her mom passed away. It was her hardest lap, but the most rewarding. She remembers her fondest Relay For Life memory as the time her mother walked the survivor lap.

"When my mom was diagnosed, I knew nothing about the American Cancer Society. Relay helps me fight back by arming me with resources to share within my community. Now I can provide information to anyone who asks me," says Patricia, of how Relay For Life allows her to fight back.

In the past six months, Patricia has been able to help a coworker stop smoking. She has helped a friend counsel her coworker whose mother had just been diagnosed with tongue cancer outside of the United States. She has had two different people at one Relay confide in her that they had just been diagnosed and she was the first person that they told.

"With the strength behind Relay For Life, I was able to help all of them with confidence."