Last week, Dawson County Relay for Life held its annual survivor dinner at the First Baptist Church in Dawsonville. The event is an uplifting and motivating gathering of those who have been affected by cancer.

With more than 100 people in attendance, the dinner featured testimonies from people in the community who have won their battle with the life-threatening disease.

“Relay is an amazing event that supports a wonderful cause,” said Roger Slaton, organizer for the dinner.

“We are so glad to see this large of a crowd and are certainly pleased to see all you survivors out there.”

Those who gave their testimonies during the dinner shared about their battle with cancer and how it affected them and their families.

Linda Williams, a survivor of cancer, said that her story was not all that much different from others who also had the disease.

“My story is pretty much the same as the other survivors here, except for the details,” Williams said.

Diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Williams has defeated the disease each of the three times it came back.

“Although I felt so alone during everything I’ve had to go through, as most people with cancer do, I had to picture chemotherapy as my soldiers that were going into battle to defeat the cancer in my body,” Williams added.

This year’s event, themed “A Cancer Free World,” will be held from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. May 8-9 at Dawson County High School.

As of Monday, 19 teams, with 223 members, were registered to participate.

More than $23,000 has been raised to donate to the cause — funding cancer research.

The event will feature live performances, relay games, fashion show, scavenger hunt, survivor lap and luminary lighting among many others.

Relay for Life is the American Cancer Society’s signature activity, a fundraiser that provides funds for cancer research. It offers everyone in a community an opportunity to participate.

Teams of people camp out at a local high school, park or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event.

Relays are an overnight event, up to 24 hours in length.

When the campaign held its kick off in January, chairman John Cronan said: “We know that we are going to be up against some hard economic times, and as far as fundraising is concerned, we are going to look more at the importance of the event.”

This year mark’s Dawson County’s 13th annual Relay for Life event.

E-mail Elizabeth Hamilton at elizabeth@dawsonnews.com.