WARREN — Charlotte Adams of the Warren area came by herself to this year’s 40th annual American Cancer Society Relay For LIfe at St. Demetrios Community Center on Atlantic Street in Warren, but did not feel alone for long.

Adams, who is a 17-year kidney-cancer survivor, sat at a table in the community center and met a brother and sister from Youngstown who also are cancer survivors. It was the first time the Relay For Life brought together people from Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties.

The event raised $68,845, just slightly short of its $70,000 goal.

“I’ve only missed one in the last 16 years,” Adams said of the Warren Relay For Life, which used to be held in Courthouse Square in Warren but moved to St. Demetrios several years ago. Adams only missed last year’s relay because she was in the hospital, she said.

“It’s nice to learn their experience and what they’ve gone through,” Adams said of meeting Jackie Leson and Bill Campy, both of Youngstown. “Everyone has different experiences, and it’s good to see the smiling faces of survivors. Some stories are just phenomenal, and it’s just amazing,” she said. “I’m thankful everyday that I’m a survivor.”

Doctors removed a tumor from around her kidney, and then she had chemotherapy, she said.

“They were able to remove the tumor without damaging the kidney. It does not function as normally, but it functions,” she noted. “That’s another fortunate thing.”

Leson said she was diagnosed in 2017 with breast cancer and was treated for it with no recurrence.

“I am checked every year and I guess I am in remission or whatever they call it,” she said.

Her brother had prostate cancer 17 years ago.

“I go every year to get checked, and I’ve been cancer free ever since then,” he said. He had laparoscopic robotic surgery at the Cleveland Clinic.

Leson said she went to the Relay For Life every year in Mahoning County, most recently at the Southern Park Mall — first as a caregiver for her brother and later as a survivor. Before that, it was held at Austintown Fitch High School’s football stadium.

Before the Survivors Lap took place in the parking lot of the St. Demetrios Community Center, Warren Mayor Doug Franklin welcomed the cancer survivors.

It was a beautiful, sunny day, he said, and there was much to be thankful for. “Because of advancements and new treatments, death rates are down, and more cancer types are beatable,” he said. “And the number of survivors is growing every single year.

“For me, it is an honor to look out at the growing number of survivors walking with pride and dignity, walking with one single goal in mind — a cure for cancer,” he said. “We walk for ourselves. We walk for a family member, a friend, a neighbor. We walk for our community. And we walk for a world where one day — and I know it will be here — that the world will be cancer-free.”

Franklin said donations to the American Cancer society are up.

“Your donations fund research, patient care programs and can make the difference in communities like ours,” he said.

The grounds of the Relay For Life had American Cancer Society signs near the road that offered messages to help people avoid cancer.

“Colon testing can save a life,” one sign read. “Colon cancer: Get the test. Get the polyp. Get the cure,” another stated. “We are the largest private, nonprofit source of funding for cancer research,” another sign stated.

Other messages were “Women 21 and older should have a regular Pap test,” “Slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat and slide on sunglasses,” another related to skin cancer stated. “Cancer accounts for 1 of every 7 deaths worldwide. We’re working with partners across the globe to address this,” another states.

Jen Snodgrass of Poland, senior development manager for the American Cancer Society’s northeast region, said she thinks the good weather helped with the turnout Saturday.

“We have a lot of survivors here, and we’re just continuing year after year to build the event,” she said.

Several years ago, Relay For Life was held in multiple communities in some counties. But relays have been consolidated in recent years, especially as a result of COVID-19, Snodgrass said. Relays were often 24-hour events, but this year’s event was five hours.

A large group of survivors participated in the survivors lap, but there were only a handful of people walking the relay route in the hours that followed.

Brothers Paul and Scott Lightner attended the Relay. Paul lives in Southington, and Scott lives in Farrell Pa. Paul was living in Mercer County when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2013 but received treatment at the St. Joseph Hospital Cancer Center in Warren, he said.

He survived Stage 4 throat cancer after being diagnosed and told he had six months to live, he said.

“So here I am 12 years later. It is beatable. Somebody with cancer — keep your head high and do your treatment. Be positive in your treatment. It is very important to meet other survivors for support,” he said.

The relays “show community support for cancer,” he said. His advice to people who don’t know much about cancer is, “Don’t smoke. Don’t drink. You gotta be healthy. Get checkups whether you have (cancer) or not,” he said. “Somewhere in your family, someone’s had it.”