One of the most dramatic moments at the first-annual Freeborn County Relay for Life came around 9 o’clock, when they shut off all the lights and thousands of candles lining the track glowed.

Each was there in honor of somebody who had cancer &045; those who survived it and many who did not. Their number was astounding. They ran along the inside and outside edges of the nearly half-mile track and sat along a concrete wall in the center. And they were arranged into huge letters on the grandstand at the Freeborn County Fairgrounds, spelling out the word &uot;HOPE.&uot;

The candles were inside weighted white paper bags known as luminaries. They bore the names of the people they represented and most were decorated with care, many with photos or artwork. They were fathers, mothers, children, husbands, wives, best friends, many of whom were taken away too soon.

It was a powerful reminder of the extent to which cancer affects us. The disease has touched almost everyone in some way, and for many has been a life changer. But it was also a symbol of our resolve to fight cancer, because each luminary represented $10 in funds raised to combat the disease. It added up to more than $37,000, which was way over the $15,000 goal originally set by organizers and even surpassed the revised goal of $25,000.

The participants sold the luminaries in advance to raise funds, then showed their support by walking the track. From 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., people walked, some of them making sure that any candles that burned out were relit.

It was also a way for those who have been touched by cancer to see the support of the community. From the dozens of survivors who began the event by taking the first lap around the track, some of them with the aid of crutches or wheelchairs, to participants who had lost a loved one or been affected by cancer themselves, everyone could see that those who turned out for the event were there to do their part to help.

Just walking around during the event, one could overhear many stories being shared of how lives were changed and how people were affected by their own struggles. But despite the incredible destruction that can be caused by cancer, the feeling was one of hope.

Personally, I was probably among those at the relay who was least affected by cancer. I have yet to lose a close relative to the disease, although it has claimed several people in my wife’s extended family (and our cat). Probably my biggest personal connection is a friend of my wife and I, who was diagnosed with the disease within the last two years. Oddly, Friday was his birthday, and three of the candles that burned were in his honor.

He has non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which is the same form of cancer that honorary Relay for Life chairman Randy Kehr had. When Kehr was diagnosed several years ago, he was told it was one of the most deadly kinds. Today, it’s one of the most curable, and that’s thanks in large part to the kind of fund raising seen Friday and at many other events that benefit the American Cancer Society.

The research made possible by these efforts saves lives. Kehr and my friend are two examples of that. If they had been alive just a few decades ago and gotten the same disease, their outcomes would have been very different.

The way I see it, you can never have too many ways to raise money for such an important and far-reaching cause, and that’s why having a Relay for Life tradition started in Freeborn County is such a good thing.

(Dylan Belden is the Tribune’s managing editor. His column appears Sundays. E-mail him at dylan.belden@albertleatribune.com.)