2012 Brown County Relay for Life officials announced they will have three survivor honorees at this year’s event and honored two of them on Tuesday, Dr. David Morales and Dr. Eric Wiley.  The third, a youth survivor honoree, will be announced in the near future.

Survivor Co-Chairs Marion Deans and Becky Smith along with other Relay for Life volunteers presented the two doctors with a zipper cooler full of gifts as a token of their appreciation for agreeing to be honorees for this year’s event.

Dr. Morales of Heart of Texas Internal Medicine has recently battled thyroid cancer, but is now a survivor, having defeated the disease.

Dr. Wiley too is a survivor of Burkitt’s Lymphoma and credits his survival to research drugs, of which he is an avid supporter.

Wiley stated that his form of cancer was very aggressive but responds well to aggressive chemotherapy.

Of the chemo he experienced, Dr. Wiley stated, “This is something very new, a state of the art treatment using antibodies and has a low number of side effects.  It is a classic example where research has made a difference.”

Relay for Life events across the country not only recognize survivors and those who have lost the battle to cancer, but these events raise awareness and much needed funds to help finance research, assist cancer patients with expenses while they are seeking treatment, help fund costs of cosmetic prosthesis and help patients in the recovery process and how to cope with what they are going through.

The Brown County Relay for Life will start at 6pm Friday, June 1 and last through 6am on Saturday, June 2nd at Gordon Wood Stadium in Brownwood.

Pictured above are:  (left to right) Lisa Callahan, Lainey Hall, Tammy Robinson, Marian Deans, Dr. David Morales, Becky Smith, and Melissa Daugherty.

Below are (left to right) back row:  Donna Thacker, Tammy Robinson, Lainey Hall, and Melissa Daugherty; front row:  Becky Smith, Lisa Callahan, Dr. Eric Wiley, and Marian Deans.