Leukemia Organization Lights Up The Night

A mother-to-bes worst nightmare: When Woodhaven resident Aracely Saldana was expecting in 1995, she went in for a regular check-up and learned that she had leukemia. She was four-months pregnant and her doctors told her if she terminated the pregnancy there was little chance that she or her daughter would survive.
A life-saving bone marrow transplant from her sister meant that both Saldana and her almost 8-year-old daughter Bianca were able to share their story with nearly 70 people who gathered this week for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Societys Light the Night kick-off event in Bayside.
"There are many people out there who werent as lucky as I was," said Saldana.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Societys annual Light the Night walk is one of the largest supporters of research in the country and last Thursday, survivors, supporters and participants gathered in the Ramada Hotel in Bayside to kick off fund-raising for the event.
The walk is held nationwide every year during September, National Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month, to raise money and awareness for blood-related cancers and to honor those touched by cancer. Every walker carries a lighted balloon, red for supporters, and white for cancer survivors.
"Its a beautiful parade of white and red against the sky. Its just a night you cant miss," said Donna Canzano, organizer of the event. The fete was attended by State Assemblywoman Ann Carrozza.
Allison Caccavale, who works at the Queens Hospital Centers Cancer Center, said that as a patient advocate she tries to stay in touch with a lot of the societies that support cancer research. "Its my community. Its my field and I like what theyre doing," she said.
Susan Louis, a team captain who came out for the kickoff event says she is involved for very personal reasons, especially because the organization does so much for cancer survivors, like their daughter. "Theyve done a lot of things that have really changed research," Louis said. "Its because of all of these organizations that do research that our daughter is alive."
And Rose Alovera, who shared her story with the group, told those present how she survived two different types of blood-related cancers within a 10-year period. Alovera said she shared her story that night to give hope to other people touched by the disease. Her pain was so intense, that out of desperation, her doctors told her to have faith and to think positive. They even suggested she talk to her bone marrow and plead with it to produce more blood. In remission since June 2002, she concluded: "Clearly, God is not done with me yet."
There are approximately 166,359 people in the US who are living with one of these diseases. In 1960, only 4% of children diagnosed with leukemia survived. Thanks to significant research, today the survival rate is 81% but the society will not stop until that rate is 100%.
Since the organizations founding in 1949, more than $240 million has been donated to cancer research, spawning the creation of life-saving treatments like chemotherapy and blood transfusions. All proceeds from the Light the Night walk go toward research for the cure of leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and myeloma, and toward improving the quality of life for leukemia patients and their families.
The walk will take place in Queens on Sunday, September 21 at the Cross Island Parkway Promenade in Bayside. Registration at Little Bay Park next to the Fort Totten entrance begins at 5:30 p.m. and the walk begins at 7 p.m. For information, contact Donna Canzano at (212) 448-9206 ext. 230, canzanod@nyc.leukemia-lymphoma.org  or www.lightthenight.org/nyc .