LAFAYETTE PARISH — Families, cancer survivors and community supporters gathered at Blackham Coliseum on Saturday for the 25th Annual Games of Acadiana, a fundraiser benefiting the Miles Perret Cancer Services Foundation.
The family-focused event serves as the foundation’s largest annual fundraiser, helping fund support services for cancer patients and their families throughout Acadiana.
Attendees spent the day enjoying interactive activities, including a life-size Candyland board, a virtual scavenger hunt and opportunities to win prizes ranging from gaming systems to speakers. Participants also competed for a grand prize of $10,000.
Beyond the games and giveaways, the event offered a chance to celebrate cancer survivors and the community that supports them.
Among those in attendance were breast cancer survivors Kathy, Julie, Becky and Alice, who have all benefited from services provided by the Miles Perret Cancer Services Foundation.
“When I first went to Miles Perret to get services, they were so nice and so kind,” Alice said.
Having lost several family members to cancer, Alice said the compassion she received inspired her to give back through volunteer work with the organization.
“I told my husband, ‘I’ve got to give back what I’m getting,’” she said.
The group joined dozens of volunteers helping make the event a success, underscoring the importance of community support in sustaining the foundation’s mission.
“It’s critically important that this be very successful so we can continue to provide services for those folks in our community that are battling and living through cancer,” said Evelyn Goodrow, a UHC oncology nurse and member of the Miles Perret board of directors.
Goodrow said one of the most meaningful moments of the day came when she saw a former pediatric patient she had treated 14 years ago.
“To see them thriving, it’s amazing,” she said.
She noted that advances in treatment have dramatically improved outcomes for many cancer patients and said events like Games of Acadiana provide hope for both survivors and those currently facing a diagnosis.
“Many years ago, when someone was diagnosed with cancer, that was a death sentence, and that’s not true anymore,” Goodrow said. “It’s important for survivors to be out here and celebrate that they’ve made it through and are living and surviving. It’s also important for people who are newly diagnosed to see these survivors doing well and realize, ‘I can do it, too.’”
As the foundation celebrates a quarter-century of Games of Acadiana, organizers say the event remains focused on its core mission: providing practical support, encouragement and hope to local families navigating cancer.
