Supporters, cancer survivors set for Light the Night Walk

By LAURA TUCKER

VIEW STAFF WRITER

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society will hold its annual Light the Night Walk at 4 p.m. on Sept. 30 behind the Cox Pavilion on the UNLV campus.

Light the Night serves to raise money and awareness about blood cancer research.

With a minimum $25 donation, supporters of cancer research can carry a lit red balloon, signifying their avocation. Survivors of cancer carry white balloons and walk with the supporters.

Honorary chairwoman Jessica Langgin said a person becomes a survivor from the time of diagnosis.

Langgin, a 35-year-old mother of two, discovered she had stage three Hodgkins lymphoma in March 2001, when she was 6 1/2 months pregnant with her second child.

Langgin said she originally thought her symptoms were the lingering affects of a bad chest cold she suffered from that year. The dimensions of Langgin's tumor were 18.9 centimeters by 13.8 centimeters by 9 centimeters.

"It was larger than my baby," she said.

Langgin successfully underwent treatment, and as a survivor, became involved with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

The Sept. 30 walk will be Langgin's fifth. This year, she will have her own "Team Jessica" booth, honoring her for raising a little more than $40,000 for the society in four years.

"My goal this year is $13,500," she said.

Last year, Las Vegas' Light the Night raised $100,000 for cancer research. The walk previously was held in two separate locations in the Las Vegas Valley. This year, the organization is holding one big event at UNLV.

This year is particularly special to Langgin, she said, because her 10-year-old brother will be flying from Miami to participate.

"I'm very proud of her," said Mel Langgin, Jessica's husband. "It's nice to see the society honoring her."

Mel has walked for the event in the past, but usually watches his two daughters, now 5 and 7, while Jessica works at the event.

In addition to her fundraising efforts for the walk, Jessica Langgin also collects print cartridges to help raise money for the society. She also participates in the society by talking with those who have been newly diagnosed with cancer.

Last year, Langgin presented former Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong with an award on behalf of the society at the Mandalay Bay.

Langgin said her circle of friends has grown as a result of her involvement in the society.

"Friends and strangers alike worked together for my family," she stated in a fundraising letter sent out to those who donate to her cause which explains her experience with cancer. "The unselfish and sometimes anonymous help could never be praised enough by me."

Langgin said she believes in "pay it forward," or passing on good deeds to others.

"Within the last three years, I have at least three friends that are still alive simply because of the new drugs that have been developed," she said. "But two weeks ago, we buried somebody on her 35th birthday."

Registration for the Light the Night begins at 4 p.m., with opening ceremonies at 5 p.m. Those who donate need not walk.

To sign up for the Light the Night Walk, those who are interested could visit www.lightthenight.org.

To donate ink cartridges or make contributions to Team Jessica, call Langgin at 480-2775.