The event is a way to raise money for the continual fight against cancer, honor people who struggle with the disease and further heighten awareness of the illness.

The first Relay for Life was held in 1985 when Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon and avid runner, took the first step of his 24-hour walk/run around a track in Tacoma, Wash., raising $27,000 to support the American Cancer Society.

Since then Relay for Life has spread to 3,800 communities in the United States and eight foreign countries. It came to Willow Glen when a local resident, Georgia Ladd, saw the event in Los Gatos and wanted to bring it to her own community.

The 24-hour event begins May 17 at 10 a.m. And for the first time, two youth cancer survivors, students at Presentation High School, will lead the first lap. The students are Christina Asbury, a 15-year-old sophomore, and Quinn McCure, a 15-year-old junior.

"All survivors in the community are invited to come to the relay," said Ladd, a breast cancer survivor. "When they walk the teams cheer and clap. Survivors are very important to the relay because they give the community hope that the battle with cancer can be won."

After the survivor lap, representatives from each team take turns walking the track for the full 24 hours. So far 40 teams have signed up for the Willow Glen event, Ladd said. Each team has 10 to 15 members, who help raise a minimum of $100. But there is plenty of room left for additional teams, she said.

The power of the relay is that it allows a community to grieve for those lost to cancer and to celebrate the survivors.

At dusk, luminarias--candles inside paper bags--will be lit around the track. Each luminaria represents someone fighting cancer or a cancer victim, and the names will be read aloud in what Ladd calls the most moving part of the event.

Last year 2,200 luminarias were lit around the track, and the word hope was spelled out in the bleachers. The candles burned all night, which was "spectacular," Ladd said.

Each team has a cancer theme campsite set up around the track where members can relax. Local businesses and organizations also donate food and entertainment. Coffee Cantata on Meridian Avenue will supply coffee for the full 24 hours.

Ladd has organized a team with fellow O'Connor Hospital employees, who will decorate their campsite with a 1950s theme, "Cruising to Wipe Out Cancer."

A youth team will have a cancer education campsite with a tunnel that people can crawl through that looks like a colon, said Ladd, who is on the American Cancer Society committee and was the chairwoman for Relay for Life the last two years. "Colon cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in Willow Glen," she added.

Last year more than 500 people participated in the Willow Glen event, which raised more than $116,000 for the American Cancer Society. One team alone raised $20,000.

"Relay for Life is a worthy event and fundraiser for Willow Glen," Ladd said. "It was very healing for me. I'm cancer free today and this is something I can do."

For more information about starting a team, contact Georgia Ladd at 408.267.5417 or tomladd@mindspring.com. For more information about Relay for Life, visit www.relayforlife.org.