SCRANTON, Pa. — September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month and a group in Scranton is walking together, lighting the way out of the darkness that comes with a cancer diagnosis.
Meet one mother who is walking to honor her daughter's fight against cancer.
Every three minutes, someone in the United States is diagnosed with a type of blood cancer.
“It can be a baby, and it can be an eighty-year-old person,” says Shelley Kowalewski.
For Shelley, it was her daughter.
“Initially, when Tammy was first diagnosed, I didn't know anything about it.”
Tammy was diagnosed with leukemia, a cancer that affected her blood and bone marrow.
It was a battle her mother didn't let her fight alone.
“It's like a club that none of us want to belong to and until it happens to you, you really don't have a clue,” said Kowalewski.
After nearly a year of fighting, Tammy passed away in 2009.
Tammy’s story is one that resonates with many volunteers with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
“I don’t think people realize how common of a disease it is, and I really don't think a lot of people realize that LLS is here to help them,” said Jess Kutza, Light the Night Campaign Manager.
One of the biggest ways the organization helps is through Scranton’s annual Light the Night Walk.
Supporters and survivors walk a mile with a lantern in hand to put a spotlight on the darkness that comes with cancer.
The Scranton volunteer-hosted fundraiser is the largest fundraising volunteer-hosted Light the Night event in the United States.
Last year, Shelley raised $32,000.
For patients in northeastern PA who are going through the same chemo Shelley watched Tammy live through, this walk not only brings awareness to blood cancers but closure for Shelley and her family.
“It keeps my daughter's memory alive. Everyone reacts differently, but for me, to talk about my daughter and to constantly think about my daughter, it helps me,” said Kowalewski.
To help support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Light the Night walk will take place this Saturday at 7 pm at Nay Aug Park.
CLICK HERE to register for the walk and donate.