KNOXVILLE -- Two cancer survivors and members of the University of Tennessee athletics family – basketball coach Cuonzo Martin and director of broadcasting Bob Kesling – are co-chairing the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s “Light the Night” Walk on the UT campus Thursday, Oct. 25.
The Light The Night Walk is LLS’ annual fundraising walk to pay tribute and bring hope to people battling cancer. Hundreds of thousands of participants raise funds for lifesaving research and patient services.
Martin and Kesling are organizing a team (Cuonzo & Kesling’s Crew) to participate in the UT walk on Oct. 25. Check-in begins at 6 p.m. at Circle Park. An opening ceremony will take place at 7 p.m., and the 1.3 mile walk begins at 7:30 p.m. The route runs from Circle Park to the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center and back again along Andy Holt Avenue and Volunteer Blvd.
VIDEO - Martin and Kesling speak about the Light The Night Walk: http://bit.ly/OxZXcu
DONATION LINK – To join the team and/or donate: http://pages.lightthenight.org/tn/ETN12/CuonzoKeslingsCrew
To register to walk and/or donate to Cuonzo & Kesling’s Crew, visit: http://pages.lightthenight.org/tn/ETN12/CuonzoKeslingsCrew
Martin is a survivor of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which he was diagnosed with during his professional basketball playing career in Italy in November 1997. He immediately returned to the United States for treatment of a malignant tumor between his heart and lungs. Martin received his last treatment on April 20, 1998, and is now in full remission.
Kesling is a survivor of T-cell Lymphoma. Diagnosed in 2010, he underwent light treatment for 18 months and continues to monitor the spread of the cancer. Kesling credits the Tennessee basketball program’s OUTLIVE initiative with prompting him to undergo a cancer screening after discovering suspicious-looking spots on his hips.
Free parking for participants in the Oct. 25 UT event will be available in the G-10 garage on campus, located directly east of Thompson-Boling Arena. The walk takes place rain or shine. Strollers are welcome, but event organizers request that pets be left at home.
For more than 60 years, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has been solely focused on individuals with blood cancers. Presently, the organization has more than $250 million committed to research across the United States and in 10 other countries. Every dollar is provided by concerned donors.
(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)