When Bendigo woman Eryn Walton was first diagnosed with blood cancer, it was something she couldn’t fathom.
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“It was surreal,” she said.
“I don’t think it ever really sank in.”
Eryn was in hospital with an unrelated illness when doctors took her blood test. The results rang alarm bells.
She spent the next nine months in and out of hospital, suspending her studies and enduring three bouts of grueling chemotherapy.
She was five months in remission, picking up her life where she left off, when new tests showed the chemotherapy had failed.
The cancer came back.
She would need a bone marrow transplant, and though siblings have a 25 per cent chance of a positive match, her sister was not.
There was, however, a match on the bone marrow transplant registry.
The bone marrow cells were taken from the donor and infused into Eryn’s body – a little like giving blood.
Despite a few hiccups – including lung issues and fatigue that mean she is still unable to work – she has been in remission for three years and counting.
Shirley said they had decided to organise Bendigo’s first Light the Night to raise awareness of myriad blood cancers, as well as funds for the Leukemia Foundation.
During Eryn’s first treatment, the foundation was lacking funds and couldn’t provide much support.
The second time around, they had accommodation available for Shirley so she could be by her daughter’s side in Melbourne.
“It was like a refuge for me … a weight lifted off my shoulders,” she said.
Bendigo woman Ashley Browell tragically lost her father to blood cancer, 10 years ago.
“I was 12 when it happened,” she said.
She said no person is untouched by cancer and she jumped on the Light the Night bandwagon, grateful she and her family could be part of a local event.
More than 1000 people are expected to attend the event, with 200 registered to walk around Lake Weeroona on Friday night in a symbol of remembrance and hope.
Bendigo’s first Light the Night for blood cancers will be held this Friday night, October 16 at Lake Weeroona.
From 6pm, there will be a sausage sizzle as well as a coffee van, raffle ticket sales, face painting, live music and lanterns for sale.
Gold lanterns are to remember a loved one who has passed away, white is for someone on a blood cancer journey, and blue is for hope and to show you care.
Lanterns will be lit for at 7.15pm and the Light the Night walk will begin at 7.30pm.
Raffle prizes will be drawn, and attendees are encouraged to mingle until the event ends at 9pm.
The event is in step with the Leukemia Foundation Light the Night events all across Australia, but this is the first time the fundraiser has been held in Bendigo.
It is the second-largest event for the Foundation, after Shave for a Cure in March, and funds raised go towards research, caring for patients and supporting carers of people suffering cancer.
There are a variety of blood cancers – leukemia is one of the most well-known, but lymphoma (in the the lymphatic system) and myeloma (a cancer of plasma cells) are also prevalent.
Visit Light the Night Bendigo on Facebook or lightthenight.org.au.
