A fund-raiser will be held Sept.12 for an area adolescent battling leukemia.
Twelve-year-old Brandon Gentry of Oxford Township was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in May. He’s currently receiving treatment for the blood cancer at Children’s Hospital in Detroit.
A benefit to help Gentry and his family continue their fight will take place 6 p.m. Friday at American Legion Post 108 in Oxford (130 East Drahner Rd.). Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for teens and free for kids. The tickets will be sold at the door and include the cost of dinner and entertainment.
There will also be raffles and a 50/50 drawing.
Proceeds will be used by Gentry and his family to help pay for living expenses, medical supplies and travel expenses to the hospital every week.
Leukemia is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood and is characterized by an uncontrolled accumulation of blood cells.
Generally, there are four types of leukemia. ALL is the most common type of leukemia for children under 15; nearly 5,500 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with the disease in 2008.
ALL begins with a change to a single cell in the bone marrow; currently, according to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, scientists are studying the exact genetic changes that cause a normal cell to become an ALL cell.
For more information about this fund raiser call Cathy Grant at 248-563-1427.