By Town Crier Staff Report
Amy and Amber Richard, Los Altos Hills sisters and Gunn High School honor students, will participate in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s annual “Light The Night Walk” Saturday in Palo Alto. They will be in memory of their childhood friend, Laetitia Khan, who lost her battle with leukemia at 14.
“We were unable to say goodbye to her,” said Amber, 15. “This event gives us closure and celebrates her life,” added Amy, 17.
The Richard sisters and their friends will walk in the two-mile “Light the Night” event and carry lighted balloons - white for survivors and red for supporters - to celebrate and commemorate lives touched by cancer.
Last year, the nationwide walk raised $10.5 million to fund research toward finding a cure. This year, the Northern California Division hopes to raise $1 million from eight walks scheduled during Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month. This is the first year the walk will be held in Palo Alto.
“We want to honor our friend and help people with the disease. Laetitia couldn’t be saved, but someone else might be,” said Amber, a junior.
The sisters lost their friend two years ago to a rare form of leukemia that was at first mistaken for a more treatable type. Kahn suffered a full year with the disease.
Amber said she is looking forward to the march. “I think it will be great,” she said. “It’s for her memory that we’re doing it. We want to commemorate her life, not her death.”
The sisters and their friends have already raised close to $200.
“I always wanted to do something to honor her,” added Amy, a senior. “This is my chance to start.”
More than 75 percent of the funds raised for “Light The Night” directly support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s mission: to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma and to improve the quality of life for patients and their families.
“The estimated 500 Palo Alto walkers and those supporting them with pledges are helping us make great strides in fighting blood-related cancers,” said Robin Melton, a spokeswoman with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. “The research is working. For example, in 1960, only 5 percent of children with leukemia survived; currently 80 percent survive. However, leukemia is still the number one fatal disease of children under 14.”
Registration will begin at 5 p.m. at El Camino Ballpark in Palo Alto. To register as an individual or team, call (408) 271-2873. Participants raising $25 or more will receive an illuminated balloon to carry during the Walk. In addition, they can honor loved ones by placing their names on dedication banners.
To make a monetary contribution, send checks to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 675 First St., Suite 1100, San Jose 95112-5156.
