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Mea Shepard, co-founder of Kick Cancer Into Touch, in a portrait taken for Delano by Mike Zenari in February 2017 at the Coque sports centre, where the Relais pour la vie (relay race for life) fundraiser will be held 1-2 April 

J.B.: How did you first get involved with Relais pour la vie?

M.S: 18 years ago my husband, Tim, died. We both used to help out with touch rugby events, on the barbecue. That’s how I got involved really. After Tim died I carried on then I met Joe Lister [the group’s president] and we decided to set up KCIT in 2005. When you’ve gone through this, you don’t want other people to have to as well. You look for anything you can do to support people, which is what we do with the donations for the Fondation Cancer and Haus Omega. Through that we thought the relais was something we could do to raise a team. I’ve been doing this since the start.

J.B.: How hard is it to get a place and what does entering a team entail?

M.S: It’s hard to register even one team nowadays because so many more people and teams are interested. Registration starts at 7a.m. on a certain day. Half of Luxembourg is sitting there at the computer ready to pounce. I was sitting there at 6:50a.m. with my cup of tea. Even then, because everyone else is doing it, the software can’t always cope. This year I was put on the waiting list straight away then I had the confirmation. It’s nerve-wracking. There are people who come back year after year to run for us. Then there are people who last year did it for the first time and asked to join again. The day-time is easier to fill than the night-time. I’ve an ex-colleague in Ireland, Anna, who runs the night shift. She comes over specially. I usually arrive at 7a.m. on the Sunday and stay until 8p.m.

J.B.: Why do you think the relais continues to be so popular in Luxembourg?

M.S: It’s very joyous. It’s a lot of people coming together with the same aim--to support people who are undergoing treatment for cancer. I wonder if it’s not because you feel so helpless, there’s so little you can do but this is a good way to show your support 
to your friends or loved ones. I would like to continue doing it. This is something that’s in my agenda for the year. Nothing comes between that except for one year I couldn’t make it.

This article was first published in the April 2017 issue of Delano magazine. Be the first to read Delano articles on paper before they’re posted online, plus read exclusive features and interviews that only appear in the print edition, by subscribing online.