From left. Jenypy Sambile, Marianas March Against Cancer chair; Lynn Tenorio, interim executive director of the Commonwealth Cancer Association; and Bo Palacios, Commonwealth Cancer Association president.
AT a press conference on Feb. 20 at their Puerto Rico office, the Commonwealth Cancer Association announced the return of the Marianas March Against Cancer on May 3.
CCA said funds raised at the march support advocacy and medical programs for cancer patients and their caretakers.
Lynn Tenorio, the interim executive director of CCA, said their group provides assistance to cancer patients. “They get prescriptions from their physicians, and we assist them with their needs. Most often it’s nutritional supplements, sometimes it may be a hospital bed, a wheelchair, [and] other needs,” she added.
This year, the Marianas March Against Cancer will take place at the Commonwealth Ports Authority field in As Lito, adjacent to the airport.
Jenypy Sambile, the event chairwoman, said the major difference between the event format this year and the prior years is that the march will be an eight-hour event and not 12 hours as in previous marches.
Sambile said the booths will be set up at 3 p.m. and the march will begin with an introductory lap featuring cancer survivors, family members and caretakers at 6 p.m. The event will conclude at 11 p.m.
Sambile said the normal format will return in the 2025 march.
Bo Palacios, the CCA president, said aside from raising money, the Marianas March Against Cancer is also an opportunity to help build a community around cancer patients, survivors and their families.
“There’s a lot of fellowship that goes on with the Marianas March Against Cancer and so building a community is critical and very central,” he added.
Because cancer patients were susceptible to Covid-19, the annual march was not held in the past four years.
But Tenorio said CCA continued providing support to cancer patients on Saipan, Tinian and Rota.
Registration for this year’s march is ongoing and interested community members and groups should email recruitment.mmac@gmail.com/.
There are six tiers of entry for participating teams: Pulan for families and Napu for schools, both cost $300; Atdao for non-profits, $399; Tano for non-profit organizations partnering with a school, educational institution or government agency, $500; Puti’on for corporations, $550; and Tasi for corporations partnering with a family, non-profit organization or school, $750.
A $100 early bird registration discount is available for new registrants. Early bird pricing ends on March 15, and the final registration deadline is March 27.
