Teaming Up Against Cancer

With a near cloudless sky above and a fiery sun beating down on Hatters Stadium Friday afternoon, a glimmer of a rainbow peeked out during the 13th annual Relay for Life of Eastern Montgomery County.

"Ray's Rainbows," a nine-member team comprised of the Browning and Jacobi families of Willow Grove and Horsham, sought shelter under a tent, but their vivid memories shown just as bright as the rainbows on their matching T-shirts.

"I'm sure he's here," Ray Browning's daughter, Chris Jacobi, said of her dad, who lost his battle with cancer two years ago. "He knew we were walking two years ago and he held on until we came back."

That walk has since become a tradition for the Jacobi and Browning family, and for the first time, was carried out as a team. In all, Ray's Rainbows netted $1,200 toward the more than $137,000 raised this year, according to the Relay for Life Web site. 

In all, 509 people - including 77 cancer survivors - registered for the 24-hour marathon of walking, which benefits the American Cancer Society. The goal is to have one member of each team walking throughout the entire event.