Fishing for a cure

City Relay for Life Team
raises $9,060 at annual event

“I’m a cancer survivor. I’m a breast cancer survivor. Men get that, too,” one fisherman remarked at the sixth annual City of Athens Relay for Life Bass Fishing Tournament held Saturday, April 8 at Ingalls Harbor in Decatur.

​According to the American Cancer Society, male breast cancer is rare, accounting for approximately 1 percent of breast cancer cases in the U.S. However, due to the infrequency of male breast cancer, much less is known about the disease, and men are more likely than women to be diagnosed with advanced-stage breast cancer.

​“Each year at this tournament, our team is reminded of why we continue to fight cancer,” said City of Athens Relay for Life Captain Holly Hollman. “One year when it was held on Mother’s Day weekend, a mother who bragged about her son and grandson fishing in our tournament because of breast cancer in the family.”

In addition, the late Al Dutton with Limestone Lunkers, a local fishing club, helped start the tournament and died from cancer the weekend of the second annual event.

“And just recently, one of our team members was diagnosed with breast cancer, and she started her chemo treatments a couple of days before the tournament,” Hollman said. “She loves volunteering at the tournament but could not be with us physically this year. She was definitely with us in spirit.”
​The tournament raised the most to date for Relay for Life, netting $9,060. That is made possible through sponsorships.

​This year’s top team was Gary Thacker and Winston Jackson, who caught 22.05 pounds of bass. The duo also had the biggest fish weighing 5.51 pounds. They won $1,500 for first place and $530 from the big fish pot.