Bill Carteaux, the long-time head of the Plastics Industry Association in Washington, said in an Oct. 1 statement that he's preparing for a bone marrow transplant in November, and he's seeking to raise additional money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Carteaux has been battling acute myeloid leukemia since April 2016, and disclosed in July that the cancer had returned after being in remission since late 2016.
In the Oct. 1. statement, he asked for help raising money for groups fighting blood cancers.
"As many know, due to my fight, I got very actively engaged in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) in the D.C. area last fall," he said. "I was amazed at how many people in my network have been touched with blood cancer in some way or another. Unfortunately, the statistics with blood cancers are not all that great."
Carteaux said he was undergoing another round of chemotherapy this week.
"On July 24, 2017, I was readmitted to the hospital for a 'short' 44 day stay!," he said. "This week I am going through another round of intense chemo as they prepare me to undergo a bone marrow transplant at Johns Hopkins in November."
Carteaux said he was asked to chair the National Capital Area Light the Night Walks, and raised more than $80,000 in a few weeks last fall. He said his new goal is to break the $100,000 mark this year.
He said the Washington, D.C., walk is scheduled for Oct. 21, and noted that the walks are the single largest fundraiser for LLS. More information can be found at his LLS fundraising page.
Carteaux also said a young member of his family died from AML a few years ago.
"Five years ago, two days before his sixth birthday, my great-nephew Ryan died from AML after spending over a year in the hospital giving it all he had!!," Carteaux said. "Ryan Raffel was one of the toughest, most determined 5 year olds I'd ever met."
He said more than 50 percent of new chemotherapy drugs developed since 2000 have come because of LLS-sponsored research.