Newswise — The University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center will host the 8th annual Survivor Beach on Sunday, June 15 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa in Mission Bay. The event will culminate Cancer Survivor Week, a week-long series of annual special events hosted by Moores Cancer Center. Survivor Beach will feature a beach festival, barbeque, live music, stand-up paddleboard (SUP) competitions for all skill levels and ages, and a paddle out for cancer survivors. Hundreds of community members are expected to gather for the day-long event in solidarity with and celebration of survivors and their caregivers.
“Survivor Beach gives us, as a community, the opportunity to celebrate the lives of those battling cancer and the families who support them while enjoying the natural beauty San Diego offers,” said Scott M. Lippman, M.D., director of UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center. “The generous support from Celgene, our lead sponsor, helps us to further our mission of translating promising scientific discoveries into new options for the care of our patients.”
Survivor Beach honors those who have fought cancer, as well as their families, friends and caregivers. For the second year in a row, Survivor Beach will feature paddleboarding races and activities including SUP clinics and vendors, an open paddle, an open race and a technical race for both stand-up and prone paddlers. The event will also feature a kid’s race.
In honor of National Cancer Survivor Day which was on June 1, Moores Cancer Center’s Cancer Survivor Week of events runs from June 9 through the Survivor Beach event on Sunday, June 15. For a full listing of activities, visit: cancer.ucsd.edu/survivor.
This year, Survivor Beach is sponsored by Celgene Corporation, a global biopharmaceutical company that seeks to deliver innovative and life-changing treatments to patients with cancer and other severe immune and inflammatory conditions. “Celgene is proud to partner with Moores Cancer Center to celebrate cancer survivors and their caregivers,” said Jonathan Usuka, director of global partnerships at Celgene. “This event reflects Celgene’s unwavering support for patients and our commitment to researching new therapies with the potential to transform cancer treatment."
“Survivor Beach offers a unique and moving way for anyone who has been affected by cancer to come together to support and inspire each other,” said Greg Gorgas, of MAST Therapeutics and the chair of the organizing committee. “We are excited to host a family-friendly paddleboard event at Mission Bay for everyone, including first-time paddlers, spectators, recreational competitors and some of the top athletes in the sport.”
The event is a warm-up to the 21st annual Luau and Legends of Surfing Invitational (formally the Luau and Longboard Invitational) on August 17 at Scripps Pier, which, since its establishment in 1993, has raised more than $6 million to advance research at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, the region’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Survivor Beach will begin at 8 a.m. and continue until 3 p.m., at the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa in Mission Bay. The beach festival and paddle out are free and open to the public. Race registration is $40 and the barbeque lunch is $25, with all net proceeds supporting UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center. For more information and to register, please visit survivorbeachsup.org.