ESU Students and Community Participate in Relay for Life

Emily Creveling’s best friend never complained. She knew how to be happy. Creveling received the bad news over a phone call: “I’m in Tennessee- I just got diagnosed with adrenal gland cancer.”

Adrenal gland cancer is very rare and is found in the glands that sit above each of the kidneys. It afflicts only one or two persons per one million populations, according to the American Cancer Society.

At 14 years old, Creveling’s best friend was told she might not have a lot of time left. She fought and hung on for three years after her diagnosis. She lost her battle to cancer when she and Creveling were 17.

“It is so hard to cope with losing someone so close to you,” she said. “I was a senior in high school without my best friend.”

A year later, when she arrived on campus at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, Creveling wanted to make a difference.

Her freshman year she joined the ESU chapter of Colleges Against Cancer.
“I told myself I was doing this for her,” she said.

Now a junior majoring in hotel, restaurant, and tourism management, and the president of the chapter, Creveling and the Relay for Life team broke history, raising $14,550. Over 300 students and community members packed into Koheler Fieldhouse on Saturday, April 11 looking to raise money for the American Cancer Society through Relay for Life. In more than 20 countries, Relay for Life events are the signature fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Every year the movement raises more than $400 million for research in every type of cancer.

“People need to know that we are trying to fight it and we need their help,” Creveling said. “No one should fight alone.”

Relay for Life is meant to showcase the journey of a cancer patient. The 12-hour-long event starts at night, representing the time an individual might first be diagnosed with cancer, then it continues into the darkness of the night symbolizing an individual’s struggle with chemotherapy, and then it concludes in the morning which represents remission, says Creveling.

The students involved set a goal before the fundraiser. They wanted to raise $10,000 but they never expected to surpass that number.

“We were ecstatic,” Creveling said. “I am so proud of what we accomplished.”

The crew isn’t pulling any punches next year — they hope to raise $20,000.
Fundraising efforts for cancer research at the university do not conclude with this event. On June 13 and 14, ESU and Monroe County will team up for another 24-hour Relay for Life. For over 20 years, the Residence Life team on campus has played a key role in this initiative.

“Relay for life is so important,” Samantha Giancaterino, a sophomore majoring in biology from Philadelphia, Pa., said. “No parent should have to hear that their child has cancer.”

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