PIKEVILLE —
When Scrappy Barnes walks in Bob Amos Park here on Sept. 13, he will be thinking about his daughter, Rachel Catherine Barnes, who died in 2005 of Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 22.
When Elizabeth and Jerry Moore walk, they will be thinking about Jerry’s 7-year-old niece, Mae Mae Chandler, who has been fighting leukemia since she was 3.
They all will be thinking of the many other leukemia and lymphoma patients in eastern Kentucky and hoping their walk will inspire others to help.
They will be participating in the Light the Night walk, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s annual fundraising and awareness-raising event. It is the second time a walk will be in Pikeville.
While Barnes lives in the Pikeville area, the Moores live in Lawrence County, just across the line from Boyd. But they are traveling to Pikeville to bring attention to the diseases, and because the only other two such fundraising walks in Kentucky are in Lexington and Louisville. A local walk may open more people’s eyes to sufferers in eastern Kentucky, they believe.
Once they get people’s attention and give them the facts, including how many children and adults are affected, they will want to help, Elizabeth Moore said Monday. “You take notice once you’ve been informed,” she said.
Her eyes were opened during the course of her niece’s treatments, some of which were in Columbus and Cincinnati but others in Huntington. Seeing the numbers of children in cancer treatment convinced her the issue was of vital local importance.
The Moores, who perform gospel music, know Barnes through the radio program he hosts.
They know he has been a fierce advocate for cancer research since his daughter was diagnosed in 2000. She fought the disease while a student at Morehead State University, and had to leave school. She later enrolled in Prestonsburg Community and Technical College until the cancer returned, received a stem-cell transplant from her sister, but succumbed to the disease four years after her diagnosis.
Barnes wants others to know his daughter’s story so they might help the children of other parents.
The walk will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Companies, teams, civic groups, neighbors and friends will walk to raise money for research.
Barnes thinks of the walk as a celebration of community engagement in a vital cause. There will be food, music and family activities.
He is hoping more teams will contact him to participate and the Pikeville walk can become an annual focal point for leukemia and lymphoma awareness.
To form a team or join an existing team, call Barnes at (606) 432-5279.
Local News
Walking the walk
Pike's Light the Night will focus on leukemia, lymphoma awareness
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