CHARLESTON, W.Va. — 430 paper bags lined the walkway at the West Virginia Capitol Courtyard Monday evening from loved ones of West Virginians touched by cancer.
The event, called Lights of Hope, was put on by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), set out the 430 bags to represent the 4,300 West Virginians that die each year from different types of cancers.
Each bag placed next to the fountain in the Capitol Courtyard was uniquely customized with either written messages, names of someone currently fighting the battle, or pictures of loved ones that died from cancer.
Doug Hogan, government relations director at ACS CAN, says the event saw representatives from all over the state and will shed light on the state’s cancer burden.
“They are from each county in the state,” Hogan said Monday evening. “Lights of Hope, it’s a way to amplify and bring to light the cancer burden in West Virginia.”
Lights of Hope is the signature event put on by ACS CAN and has been around for 14 years, but Monday was the first time the display made its way to the Mountain State. While the bags uplifted those affected by many types of cancer in West Virginia, the main focus was centered around tobacco and smoking-relating cancer deaths.
Hogan says the disease continues to affect residents of the state.
“Unfortunately, about 4,300 West Virginians do die annually from various cancers, the majority of those are tobacco-related cancer,” Hogan said. “Even on top of that, about 13,000 West Virginians will hear those dreaded words this year alone, ‘You have cancer.”
Tyler Garden, an event helper, says West Virginia residents struggle with tobacco usage and this event brings those struggles to light.
“West Virginia, in particular, has a very bad problem with cancer caused by tobacco in comparison to other states,” Garden said. “I think anything like this that can raise awareness about that and maybe get somebody started on the path to quitting if they are or prevent somebody from starting in the first place, that’s always a good thing.”
Mountains of Hope Cancer Coilition, a statewide program fighting to reduce the burden of cancer, was also represented at Monday’s event. Lauren Wright, Mountains of Hope Cancer Coilition Manager, says tobacco use in West Virginia can lead to cancer and needs to be taken seriously.
“Tobacco use is linked to lung cancer and lung cancer is one of the top cancers in West Virginia and has a high mortality rate,” Wright said. “We focus on that from a prevention aspect. If people aren’t smoking, we try to get them to not start smoking, and if they do smoke, we try to keep them from smoking.”
Hogan says the goal of the event is to support cancer patients and those affected by any form of the disease.
“What we’re focused on is amplifying that message to cancer patients and the importance of supporting them and the importance of letting them know that they’re not alone,” Hogan said.
On average, 2,332 West Virginians die every year from tobacco-related cancers.
In addition to raising awareness and making those affected by cancer felt supported, the Lights of Hope representatives want to push lawmakers to increase funding for tobacco prevention.
Hogan says they have requests they want to get to West Virginia political leaders.
“We have a couple of asks that we’ve been trying to get to the governor and also to the speaker and the senate president,” Hogan said. “If there is a special session that deals with appropriations later this year, we want an investment in prevention funding to be including in that special session call.”
Wright said at the conclusion of the meeting that every bag has a story, and they need supported.
“ACS CAN, Mountains of Hope, and all the people who filled out these really nice bags in honor of someone who has had cancer, is currently fighting cancer, or has fought cancer, they all have a story,” Wright said. “We all tried our best to support them and prevent any more cancer from happening.”
For more information on supporting those affected by cancer in the state, visit fightcancer.org