In Memory of my father, Tom Bell.
My father, Tom Bell, was gregarious, warm and dedicated to his community. He spent 25 years as a detective on the Arlington County Police Force, served our country in Vietnam, and then spent over 20 years with the Virginia National Guard, and I got the honor of being his only child.
Two years ago, my father, like so many (too many) others, lost his battle with leukemia. This year will mark the third annual Light The Night® Walk that “Team Tom” will be participating in at the Reston Town Center, sponsored by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The walk helps build awareness of blood cancers and to raise money to support the work of hundreds of the world’s best and brightest researchers in their search for better therapies and cures for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.
The Society funds lifesaving cancer research that has contributed to major advances in the treatment of blood cancers and many other types of cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and stem cell transplants that have prolonged and enhanced the lives of patients. New targeted therapies that kill cancer cells without harming normal tissue have already begun to provide drugs and procedures that are improving quality of life.
But more research is critically needed:
- Every five minutes someone is diagnosed with blood cancer. Every ten minutes, someone dies.
- Leukemia causes more deaths among children than any other cancer
- More than 20,000 Americans died from lymphoma in 2006
- The survival rate for myeloma is just 33 per cent
If you would like to register to walk with us on October 4th, please click on register to walk, and then click join team, and either search for Team Tom (Reston, VA) or search under my name (Jennifer Keating). Registration is free.
Please make a donation to support Team Tom through the Light The Night Walk and help save lives. Be sure to check this Web site to see our progress, and again, thanks for your support!
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