Lexington Teen is a Cancer Survivor and 'Honored Hero'

Just two years after a small cut on her foot led to the life-changing diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, 14-year-old Jesi Watson will be sharing her cancer journey with the participants of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Light The Night Walk this Sunday, Sept. 30, at Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield.

According to an LLS press release:

Light The Night is the evening fundraising walk campaign of LLS. Each year, in communities all across the United States and Canada teams of families, friends, co-workers and local and national corporations come together to raise funds for the Light The Night Walks and bring help and hope to people battling blood cancers. Light The Night Walk events are evenings filled with inspiration. During this leisurely walk, walkers carry illuminated balloons - white for survivors, red for supporters and gold in memory of loved ones lost to cancer - thousands of walkers - men, women and children - form a community of caring, bringing light to the dark world of cancer.

Her family, friends and the Lexington United Soccer Club community rallied 'round her and walked for Jesi in the first two years after her diagnosis. In just a few short weeks, "Team Jesi" raised $8,564 in 2010, and they raised another $8,119 for Light The Night in 2011.

This year, things will be different. A 2012 Light The Night Honored Hero, Jesi will represent the white balloon as a cancer survivor and share her story.

-- For more about Jesi and all of the 2012 Honored Heroes, visit: http://www.lightthenight.org/ma/localchapter/patients.

-- For more about Light The Night Walks, which raised more than $50 million in approximately 185 communities across North America, visit: www.lightthenight.org.