Cheryl Chaves was there in memory of her late husband, Tony Chaves.

Jennifer Dulong's mother was diagnosed with cancer only three months ago.

Richard Keith is a survivor. He was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer, but he beat the odds and was there with his family and loved ones.

Cancer survivors, caregivers, and supporters of all ages gathered at the Wareham High School track and field on Friday, June 22, for the Wareham Relay for Life, an all-night fundraiser that honors those who have passed away from cancer, those who have survived it, and the caregivers and friends who were there every step of the way.

"This is what is awesome, people that donate their time … to walk 24 hours for one purpose," said Keith while motioning his arm toward the walkers making their way around the track at the start of the relay. "These are my heroes. ... This makes everything worthwhile for what a person goes through in cancer."

The Relay for Life features teams of participants who walk around the track from approximately 6 p.m. on June 22 to 11 a.m. on June 23.

Each team, which features members young and old, keeps at least one member on the track at all times.

The gesture symbolizes the struggle that cancer patients must go through as they fight a disease that never takes a break, said Wareham Relay for Life Event Co-chairman Suzy Wood.

"Cancer never sleeps and neither do we," said Wood.

The Relay for Life has raised more than $56,000 so far, said Wood, though the final numbers have not come in yet.

Friday's events started off with a "survivors' lap" where survivors of cancer, easily recognizable in purple "Relay for Life" t-shirts, walked around the track to the applause and cheers of fellow participants.

Teams of participants, with names like "Tony's Tigers," "Bells Angels," and "Pillars of Hope," then marched around the track to the applause of onlookers before the beginning of the regular walking schedule.

The theme of this year's relay was "Colors of Hope," which symbolizes the different types of cancer affecting patients, Wood explained.

"It's to make people aware of the different types of cancers, that there is help out there, and that we're trying to fight and hopefully find a cure for it," said Wood.

Cheer was plentiful at the relay, which featured young kids racing around the track with glow necklaces dangling off their necks and a competition for Miss Relay that had young, dapper men dressed as women.

"I would marry rich and be lazy the rest of my life," said Robert Giannelli (aka "Roberta") when asked what he (she?) would do with the title of Miss Relay 2012. Giannelli will soon be entering Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School.

But while the relay was about cheer and celebrating life and survival, it was also about the many stories of families and friends that cancer has brought together.

Cheryl Chaves has one of those stories.

Her team has participated in the relay for many years under the name the Rockland Trust Renegades, named after the Rockland Trust in West Wareham where Chaves and her team members work.

But this year, the team decided to call themselves Tony's Tigers, after Chaves' husband, who passed away last year due to lung cancer.

Chaves, who quit smoking on the day of this year's relay in honor of her husband, said that it was her support system that got her through her husband's struggle and passing.

"You can't go through it by yourself, whether you're a survivor or a caregiver. I didn't do it alone," she said. "We're a team on and off this field."

To learn more about the Relay for Life, visit www.relayforlife.org. If you already want to sign up for next year's event, contact Committee Co-chair Penny Ellis at 508-291-0514.

Wareham Week will update the amount total amount fundraised when the information becomes available. Stay tuned!