Tufts students 'Light The Night' in Boston

Participants in the second annual Boston Light the Night walk braved the rain last Thursday, forsaking umbrellas for red and white lighted balloons. Over 30 members of the Tufts community walked two miles through Boston Common to raise money for cancer research.

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. The Massachusetts chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society began the Boston Common walk last year.

Members of Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT) fraternity, Hillel, and the Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS) raised over $600 for walking in the event. They carried white balloons honoring patients and cancer survivors, and red balloons representing friends and supporters.

The walk was particularly meaningful to Tufts students following the death last year of student David Medeiros from pancreatic cancer and the death of student Jonathan Neuman from lymphoma over the summer.

Leukemia, myeloma, and lymphoma make up almost 40 percent of all cases diagnosed among 15 to 19-year-olds in the US, according to the National Cancer Institute. According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma society, approximately 106,300 people living in the US will be diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma this year.

Tufts Hillel Social Justice Coordinator Deb Wachenheim promoted the walk at Tufts community in an effort to include more participants from college campuses this year. Wachenheim, whose mother has leukemia, also recruited students at MIT and Northeastern University.

Wachenheim thought students would be interested in the event not only for personal reasons, but also because of the nature of the walk. "It's a little different from the usual organization," she said. "I think this theme of lighting the night with the hope for a cure and for a good future for people who right now are struggling with the disease is important."

The walk, Wachenheim said, is also a good way for survivors of leukemia and lymphoma to do something together with their friends and family.

Several Tufts students will also participate in the Breast Cancer Walk along the Charles River next Sunday.

"While it's important to find a cure for such a widespread disease," LCS Cancer Outreach co-coordinator Sarah Axler said, "it's also important to help people of all ages who are living with cancer."

Junior Ed Schwehm, who walked with members of his fraternity, ZBT, thought it was important that Tufts students reach out to the community by using their time and energy, since college students do not have much money to give. "It was great to see so many people mobilized for a good cause," Schwehm said. "Donating money is one thing, but when people donate their time and energy it really shows you they care."

The event was "a huge success," according to Jessica Mironick, who organized the Boston walk for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. An estimated 1,200 people participated, and though the money is still being counted, the Society believes that over $140,000 was raised for research, according to Mironick.

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.