VICTORIA Park will glow gold, white and blue this month, as hundreds of Dubbo residents 'Light the Night' and walk in solidarity with others affected by blood cancers.
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The annual, nationwide event will see participants carry coloured lanterns around the park: gold in memory of a loved one; white for their own blood cancer journey; and blue in support of a future free of blood cancer.
The event aims to raise funds and awareness for the research and patient support work of the Leukaemia Foundation.
It's work that Dubbo resident Nick Willetts knows only too well.
Mr Willetts has lymphoma and spent the last six months staying at a Leukaemia Foundation accommodation unit as he underwent chemotherapy and stem cell replacement at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred hospital (RPA).
"In March I got a little bit dizzy. I thought I'd hurt my back but the lymphoma had actually got into my spine and was eating my nerves," Mr Willetts said.
"Then this tumour [on my head] popped up, and they rushed me back to RPA."
It was Mr Willetts' second go around fighting off the disease, after going into remission last August. This time around, though, staying at Leukaemia House saved Mr Willetts and his mother a lot of financial stress.
"Professor Joy Ho said 'you had better find somewhere where you're comfortable, because you're going to be here for the long haul'," Mr Willets said.
"The treatment down there was pretty stressful, just long. I had chemo in my spine where I had pain shooting up and down my legs every time we did it, all my back felt like it was shaking.
"Luckily we got the Leukaemia House."
Five weeks after his stem cell replacement wrapped up, Mr Willets is now urging Dubbo residents to get behind Light the Night on Friday, October 9.
As well as being a fundraiser for the Leukaemia Foundation, the nationwide event aims to raise awareness of the more than 60,000 blood cancer sufferers across Australia. Another 34 people are diagnosed every day.
Starting from 6.30pm at Victoria Park, the Dubbo event will kick off with live music and entertainment, followed by speeches and the main event - the walk around Victoria Park.
For more information about the event or the work of the Leukaemia Foundation, visit www.lightthenight.org.au or visit www.leukaemia.org.au
