Newswise — LOS ANGELES (Oct. 11, 2016) – Jassmine Ahumada’s 7-year-old son, Rey, should be running, jumping and playing outside like most other children his age. Instead, he’s fighting leukemia and “stuck in a bubble,” says his mom, an admissions clerk at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica. “That word, ‘cancer,’” she adds. “We need to put an end to it.”
With that as a goal, UCLA Health is presenting sponsor of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Oct. 22 “Light the Night Walk” at L.A. Live. More than 60 teams composed of hundreds of UCLA Health staff members, patients, including many cancer survivors, family members, researchers and community members are expected to participate by carrying red, white or yellow lanterns that will literally light up the Southern California night.
“UCLA Health is proud to partner with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to help create a future without blood cancers,” said Johnese Spisso, president of UCLA Health and corporate walk chair for the Los Angeles event. “Over the years, the society has funded about 50 UCLA researchers with almost $10 million, and its support has been vital to the development of many treatment breakthroughs, including Gleevec, a pill for a common form of adult leukemia that has dramatically improved five-year survival rates.”
Jassmine’s lantern will be red in support of Rey and other patients with blood cancers who are hoping for a cure. Individuals who wish to commemorate a loved one lost to cancer will carry yellow lanterns, while cancer survivors will carry white, signifying the power of research.
Another UCLA Health employee, Martin Lingard, will also be walking at Light the Night, but his lantern will be white. Lingard, a lymphoma survivor, said he is “proud and pleased to be carrying a white lantern” to raise awareness and research funds that will lead to better therapies and cancer-fighting drugs with fewer side effects.
As assistant director of logistics, he is responsible for patient transport and materials management. Following his diagnosis in 2012, he underwent surgery followed by four different types of chemotherapy and then radiation. While effectively fighting the cancer, the drugs took an enormous toll on his body.
“The veins in my arms are damaged and my digestive system was tremendously affected by the chemotherapy drugs,” he said. “It’s important, of course, to focus on a cure, but also important to develop new drugs that specifically target only the cancer – without harmful side effects.”
According to UCLA researcher Dr. John Timmerman, the LLS is the only organization that focuses completely on blood cancers.
“They want to advocate for new research and bring exciting cures for patients with all different types of blood cancer,” said Timmerman, associate professor of hematology and oncology at UCLA Health.
“Light the Night Walks” are presented by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society every fall in nearly 200 communities across North America, bringing together patients, survivors, health care professionals, community members and corporate sponsors – all with the goal of funding research to help find cures for blood cancers. Funds raised from the “Light the Night Walk” also help improve patient access to treatment and bolster support services for patients and their families.
For more information, visit www.LightTheNightUCLA.org.
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Available for interviews:
Jassmine Ahumada – Mother of Rey, a 7-year-old with leukemia who was diagnosed just a few days after Christmas 2014. An admissions clerk at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica, Jassmine says of her son, “He’s the strongest little boy you’ve ever seen. Every month he has to have a spinal puncture for his chemotherapy. When new children come to the clinic frightened and crying, Rey offers comfort and reassurance. He shows them his own port and explains that they don’t need to be afraid and that it won’t hurt.” Martin Lingard – a four-and-one-half-year lymphoma survivor and father of four adult children. Diagnosed in 2011, he already had a large mass in his chest which doctors were unable to remove surgically because it was intertwined with internal organs. Four rounds of chemotherapy followed by radiation have been effective in fighting the cancer, but have taken a toll on his body. Martin is walking to support research that will lead to effective cancer drugs without damaging side effects.
Johnese Spisso, RN, MPA, is president of UCLA Health, CEO of UCLA Hospital System and Associate Vice Chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences. She is serving as corporate chair of the 2016 Los Angeles Light the Night Walk to help find cures for blood cancers and improve patient access to treatments.
Dr. John Timmerman – Blood cancer researcher and associate professor of hematology and oncology at UCLA Health.“The LLS is the only organization that focuses completely on blood cancers,” he said. “They want to advocate for new research and bring exciting cures for patients with all different types of blood cancer.”
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