$1m raised at relay run for cancer fight

This article is more than 12 months old

Mar 04, 2019 06:00 am

Actress Bridget Fernandez's family went through a traumatic time in late 2014 when they learnt that her elder brother had liver cancer and had only months to live.

They had to go through a "humbling" experience in navigating the difficult process of caregiving and getting subsidies to afford his cancer treatments, though they received guidance and help from the Singapore Cancer Society (SCS).

"You usually hear only wonderful things and don't hear the struggles. The SCS helped us through dealing with the reality of helping a loved one with cancer," said Ms Fernandez.

Yesterday, three years after her brother's death, Ms Fernandez, 54, joined around 7,000 others in an overnight relay run in support of the fight against cancer. "I felt like my brother was encouraging me to do a bit more," she said, describing her brother, who was in his 60s, as her role model.

The third edition of the SCS TalkMed Relay For Life set a new mark in the Singapore Book of Records for the longest distance (14,849.2 km) covered by a group of runners in six hours.

The relay saw a total of 208 teams taking part in the 100km challenge - almost double last year's number. The $1 million raised will go towards funding programmes and services run by SCS. - CHERYL TEH