Cancer used to be just a scary word to me. I knew my grandfather had died from cancer shortly before I was born, but I still felt removed from the disease; it made me uncomfortable, and I didn’t relate to it.

That changed in my senior year of high school when one of my best friends was diagnosed with colon cancer. Marty was 17. He was proof that cancer could hit anyone; he was also proof that cancer couldn’t kill the human spirit. Marty enjoyed life and received a standing ovation at his graduation. Sadly, he passed away less than two months shy of his 19th birthday. His family and friends all continue to support cancer research in his memory.

I’m all for a fashion statement that supports cancer awareness. I wear the yellow Livestrong and the pink “punch out” breast cancer bracelets, and I’m hardly alone. Just walk around Madison, and you’ll notice thousands of wrists with colored bands supporting various causes, cancer-related or otherwise.

But actions speak louder than bracelets. To make your bracelet more than a trendy fashion statement, get active.

My first week of college, I began volunteering in the University of Wisconsin Hospital cancer ward. To this day, I spend a couple of hours each week helping chemotherapy patients choose wigs, hats and headscarves. Chemotherapy is tough. Helping patients select and style wigs has been an emotionally rewarding experience. The UW Hospital Volunteer Services department would love to see more students getting involved.

This will be my third year participating in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life with my sorority. The relay is an all-night team walk/run to benefit the ACS. In Madison, the Indoor Relay for Life, hosted at the Shell Athletic Complex, will take place the night of April 22. All are welcome.

Students nationwide in an array of groups participate in the Relay for Life, and the number of participants grows every year. Katie Blank, an ACS income development representative in Evanston, Ill., said the Northwestern campus has averaged an increase of 20 teams annually and added that college students are an especially passionate group of fundraisers.

“Everyone makes a difference,” she stressed. “College campuses do very well because students rally around the cause. There’s a different energy at the college level. [Students] get excited about it.”

Cancer is an equal-opportunity disease; it doesn’t discriminate along political or social lines. Once cancer has affected your life, you feel a link to those with similar experiences.

“Everyone has stories,” Blank noted, adding Madison college students are obviously no exception. She said this year in Illinois fundraisers have started an “I relay because” campaign, based on the idea many people have a very personal drive to contribute.

Money raised through the Relay for Life covers four main areas: research; support services for patients; prevention and early detection, and advocacy to retain governmental support. This year, 3 million people in 4,200 American communities will participate; worldwide, eight countries host the relay.

The event webpage advertises a Colleges Against Cancer competition and posts a list of top-10 fundraising colleges. I’d like to see UW make that list. Not all of us can be doctors, medical researchers or health-care providers. But if supporting cancer research is meaningful to you — and by the rainbow of bracelets on campus, I’m guessing it is for many — volunteer your time at the Relay for Life.

It shouldn’t take a great personal loss to show support. Cancer will affect us all in life, whether directly or indirectly. I wish I’d gotten involved sooner.

The Lance Armstrong bracelets and the ACS Hope bracelets are a visual way of showing support for cancer research. This year, think about going beyond the bracelets and giving a little bit of your time.

Cynthia Martens ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in Italian and European studies.