Student Forms BU Group to Fight Blood Cancers
Sarah Haydu (SMG’11) is raising money to battle leukemia
Sarah Haydu had long wanted to do something to help her father, who has battled chronic lymphatic leukemia (CLL) for six years.
Haydu (SMG’11) encouraged her friends and family to join her in raising funds to help fight the disease. She formed BU Beats CLL, a group that has raised more than $1,000 for the Light the Night Walk. The walk is a nationwide event of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) to raise money and awareness for blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma.
The walk will be held, rain or shine, on Thursday, October 2, at 5 p.m., at the Boston Common.
“I knew I had to do something to help him,” Haydu says of her father, Paul Haydu (CAS’70, MED’70). “I looked into different fundraisers. The Light the Night Walk was coming up, and I knew a lot of my friends and family would like to participate. The money raised will hopefully find a cure for my father’s specific type of cancer.”
An estimated 138,530 people in the United States will be diagnosed with blood cancer in 2008, according to the LLS, and approximately 52,910 people will die.
The LLS is dedicated to funding blood cancer research, government advocacy, patient assistance programs, community outreach, and education programs. Founded in 1949, the organization has raised more than $600 million for blood cancer research.
Participants begin the two-mile Light the Night Walk at twilight, carrying balloons designating their relationship to the disease. Survivors will hold illuminated white balloons, supporters will hold red balloons, and people walking in memory of a loved one will hold gold balloons. The walk consists of two laps around the perimeter of the Boston Common. The event will also include music, food, and family activities.
To participate, contact Haydu at shaydu@bu.edu or check out the group’s Facebook page. Online donations can be made here.
Amy Laskowski can be reached at amlaskow@bu.edu.
Comments & Discussion
Boston University moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. Abusive, profane, self-promotional, misleading, incoherent or off-topic comments will be rejected. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. Statistics or facts must include a citation or a link to the citation.