EPA teams up for cancer supportCancer. Just saying the word is scary. All of us at Eugene Pediatric Associates are trained to care for children with cancer, and that’s a heartfelt and challenging part of what we do. But cancer now has affected our own beloved staff, and none of us was ready for that. Two of our triage nurses were recently diagnosed with cancer, and it has shaken all of us. These women are much more than our colleagues, they are our dear friends and an integral part of this place that we care about deeply.

So, what are we doing? After the tears and the hugs, the prayers and well-wishes, the casseroles and visits, we are organizing a Eugene Pediatric Associates team for Relay for Life of Eugene/Springfield. This hard-working arm of the American Cancer Society brings teams of people together, and the funds raised during Relay for Life go toward cancer research and support programs for cancer patients and survivors.

Our team, the Cancer Kickers, will be sporting its purple team T-shirts July 25-26 at the 2014 Relay for Life at Willamette High School. We are making the event more fun, and inviting our patient families to participate, by selling raffle tickets for a Burley bike trailer. The raffle tickets are available at our office. The drawing for the trailer will occur the first day of the event, July 25.

Please join us in celebrating our beloved friends with cancer and anyone you know who has faced this scary diagnosis. Donate to our team, Eugene Pediatric Associates Cancer Kickers, by purchasing raffle tickets for the Burley. Or come out for a fun and healthy walk or run with us this July. Call us for more information at 541-HUG-KIDS.