Kildare cancer survivor calls on people to get involved in Relay For Life

KILDARE cancer survivor Karen Langton is calling on people across Kildare to get involved in this year’s Relay For Life Kildare at the Curragh Racecourse in Newbridge to remember those who have passed, support those who are fighting and celebrate survivors.

Kilkea woman Karen Langton (41), who has been recognised by the American Cancer Society as a Global Hero of Hope, was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2025. Her diagnosis came about after a tumour was discovered while she was receiving treatment for a cyst in her breast.

Karen said: “I found a lump under my right arm. It turned out to be just a cyst, but when I was transferred to hospital to get treatment for the cyst, they found a tumour in my right breast.

“The first thing I thought of were my children, Kate (9) and Adam (12). It was all just such a shock, it just wasn’t what I expected.” 

When Karen started chemotherapy last year, her first session was just a few days before Relay For Life Kildare. As Karen and her family have gone to the event every year since 2016, as her mother is a breast cancer survivor and her family have lost loved ones to cancer, she was determined to go again – this time as a survivor wearing a purple survivors’ t-shirt.

She said: “It was lovely to sit down with people who knew what I was talking about, especially because it was all still very fresh for me.

“Last year, I was quite anxious and didn’t know if I could do the full 24 hours. But this year, I’m just ready to go, and my kids are so excited, they can’t wait and they’ve always been really involved in Relay.” 

Karen’s treatment – a lumpectomy, lymph node removal, 6 rounds of chemotherapy and 15 rounds of radiotherapy – finished last October. She’s now on a hormone treatment and is doing well and looking forward to this year’s Relay For Life Kildare.

Registration is now open for the 24-hour event, which starts at 1pm on 6 June in aid of the Irish Cancer Society.

Participants team up and take it in turns to walk through the day and night, with someone always on the move during the 24-hour period.  

A key feature of every Relay For Life is the survivors’ lap, where cancer survivors who have lived or are living with cancer are invited to open the event with a special celebratory lap of their local Relay track. 

A moving Candle of Hope ceremony is one of the main highlights of Relay For Life.  Thousands of candle bags that have been personalised with messages of hope and remembrance are lit in celebration of cancer survivorship and to honour loved ones lost to cancer. 

The uplifting Relay For Life event also features entertainment and fun for all the family.   The funds raised at Relay For Life are essential to enable the Irish Cancer Society to provide free, vital support services to people affected by cancer across Ireland and to fund ground-breaking cancer research.  

Commenting on her favourite aspects of Relay For Life, Karen said: “The Candle of Hope ceremony is a highlight for me, I feel that it’s such an emotional thing and it just brings everything home. And the Silent Lap is very moving; you can hear people’s emotions. Relay For Life shows us the reality of the impact of cancer, and it’s a 24-hour event because cancer doesn’t sleep.” 

While Karen and her family are looking forward to taking part in their 9th Relay For Life Kildare together, she wants to encourage people right across Kildare to take part, whether they register a team, purchase a candle bag or visit at any point during the 24-hour event.

Karen said: “I’d encourage everyone to get involved in Relay For Life Kildare. It’s a deeply meaningful event for both cancer survivors and people who have lost loved ones to cancer. It brings communities across Ireland together, all for an amazing cause that truly makes a difference.” 

To take part in the survivors' lap, register a team for a Relay For Life Kildare, or to buy a candle bag to be displayed as part of the Candle of Hope ceremony, visit www.relayforlife.ie/event/kildare.