Gov. Ben Cayetano, Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono and other state leaders are adding their names to hundreds of others on banner petitions going to Washington, D.C., for display at the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life Celebration. State officials sign
banners on cancerStar-Bulletin staff
Chris Pablo, Beth Freitas and Julie Duldulao, among Hawaii's Relay Ambassadors, presented the banner for signatures yesterday in the governor's office.
On the mainland, people are signing and writing memorials on the sides of a charter bus traveling from state to state. The signatures are being gathered from people who believe cancer should be a national priority.
The Relay for Life Celebration on the Hill Sept. 18-19 is a grass-roots event to mobilize people touched by cancer to urge Congress to save lives through public policy and research funding.
U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye (D-Hawaii) and U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink (D-Rural Oahu, Neighbor Islands) were the first to sign petitions presented on a float during Kailua's Fourth of July parade.
About 3,000 Relay for Life Community Ambassadors are expected to meet with members of Congress in Washington during the Relay for Life Celebration.
Hawaii's Relay Ambassadors also include Frank Chong, Nohelani Cypriano, Hoppy Smith, Reginald Ho, Joanne Itano, Kim Kuulei Bierne, Lila Johnson, David Espinda, Cynthia Campbell, Virginia Seng, Bob Hansen and Marie McElligot (of Guam).
More than 5,000 Hawaii residents are diagnosed with cancer annually, and about 1,800 die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.