Sabrina Schmidt marches to the beat of her own drum.
Thats why 43-year-old Schmidt refuses to dance to cancers deadly tune and has hired her own small, but merry, band to battle for 12 hours in the name of survivors and loved ones lost to the disease.
Schmidt and ten family members and close friends will form ranks as Brinas Army and will pound the track at the Olympic oval as part of next weeks Relay For Life.
Since November 2010, Schmidt has been fighting stage 4 breast cancer which means the disease has spread to several other parts of her body.
For her though, the 12-hour fundraising relay is not just a way of raising much-needed cancer research cash.
Its an opportunity for her to show shes still very much in the race for life and the disease is far from winning the war on her body.
I wont be running, but Ill definitely be there supporting my team and walking as much as I can, said Schmidt, who was raised in Richmond and attended Cambie secondary and Richmond high.
I want to be there to drive the team through. Cancer doesnt sleep, so I dont see why I should.
And if it comes to it, Ill have my mattress in my SUV!
Schmidt, who is on chemotherapy and receives abdominal injections every four weeks, says her army is all pretty motivated, but is struggling to raise money right now.
Theres not many people understanding whats going on here, so we set ourselves a low target of $1,000, she said, acknowledging there are many charities out there trying to wrest money from peoples pockets.
Weve passed our target, were at $1,500, but wed love to get to $4,000.
Schmidt, whose life traveling the world as a group sales manager for a travel firm is on hold, entered her team to bring more attention and awareness to the struggles friends and families of cancer patients go through.
No one understands what a cancer patient goes through, but its tough for people around them also, said Schmidt, who will also be a guest speaker at the relay.
At the beginning, it was pretty dark for me for a short period.
But you just have to ask yourself, Are you going to accept this? Or are you going to fight it?
If youd like to join in the fight with Brinas Army on Saturday June 15 from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. then email [email protected].
The regular registration fee is $20 and is $15 for 18 and under.
If youd like to donate to Brinas Army, go to www.relaybc.ca/richmond2013 and go to the donate to a team tab and look for Brinas Army.
