"I had lymphoma when I was 12," second-year College student Kim MacDonald said.
At such a young age, MacDonald was forced to endure chemotherapy and surgery to combat her cancer. Lymphoma is caused by damage to the DNA of a lymphocyte, and it may affect a person's marrow and blood, causing the growth of tumors in the lymph nodes, according to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Web site. After surviving this debilitating disease, MacDonald has become very involved in fundraising for cancer research and the improvement of patients' lives.
A few weeks ago, MacDonald started the new Hoos for a Cure CIO along with some of her friends, hoping to raise awareness and support for blood cancer research. One way they will work toward this goal is by participating in the Light the Night event Oct. 1 in Reston, Va., along with a few students from other Virginia schools.
This is MacDonald's fifth year taking part in Light the Night, a fundraiser that supports the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, as well as her fourth year as a team captain.
The event consists of a two- to three- mile walk in which each participant carries an illuminated balloon. Survivors carry white balloons while the other walkers carry red ones, but each balloon celebrates and commemorates lives touched by blood cancer. In addition to the illuminated balloons, the event offers memorial balloons that can be dedicated to specific individuals affected by blood cancer.
"Our team will have a memorial balloon for Bob Coates, one of my friend's grandfathers who recently died of lymphoma," MacDonald said.
According to the Light the Night Web site, around 747,465 Americans suffer from blood cancers.
Many of these blood cancers affect children and young adults, as in MacDonald's case. Further, the Web site states that leukemia is the deadliest cancer among children and young adults under the age of 20.
To take part in the Light the Night fundraiser, MacDonald's Hoos for a Cure team has been raising money since the beginning of the school year. They already have had a bake sale as well as a fundraising night at Qdoba's on the Corner. Most of the money they raise comes from individual efforts and the donations from friends and family members, although MacDonald has made many efforts to encourage businesses to donate to the cause as well.
"We hope to raise five-thousand dollars this year," MacDonald said. "Right now, we have about three-thousand dollars, but individually raised money will be turned in next week."
Money raised for the walk goes directly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, whose mission is to "cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families," according to the Society's Web site.
Another member of Hoos for a Cure, second-year Education student Catherine Gray, said she got involved in the event because she went to high school with MacDonald and participated in the walk with her in the past.
"The actual walk is really fun because we all show up together as a group," Gray said. "It's really cute to see everyone walking with the lit balloons."
Gray expressed her hopes for the future development of the group at the University.
"It would be really nice if more people got involved that weren't just our friends from high school," Gray said. The group right now consists of approximately 15 members, most of who went to high school with Gray and MacDonald.
In addition to expanding the group's membership, MacDonald plans to increase the impact of Hoos for a Cure activities in future years.
"We want to have larger-scale fundraisers and work together as a team," MacDonald said.
In April, for example, there will be a Charlottesville walk for those touched by cancer.
Third-year College student Bridget Wandelt, another Hoos for a Cure member, commented on the significance and impact of the new CIO.
"I think the biggest effect that we're going to have is that all the people we speak to, whether they donate money or not, they're going to have a heightened awareness about leukemia and lymphoma, and I think that's really important," Wandelt said.
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