TYLER, Texas — The Gold Network of East Texas hosts an annual event to spread awareness of children affected by pediatric cancer.
This Tuesday evening marked a special night for young ones as they were honored at the 'Go Gold ETX' event.
The event was held at the downtown square in Tyler and was decorated in the color gold. Founder and director of GNET, Heather Rucker said gold is a special color since it's associated with Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September.
"Breast cancer has made great strides in raising awareness, getting pink merchandise out there and getting people to be aware of the terrible problem," Rucker said. "Nobody knows that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and the ribbon color is gold. That's why we're the Gold Network of East Texas. And before I became a cancer mom, I didn't know anything about it either."
GNET makes it their goal to praise young survivors of cancer in our area by planning this fun event full of food, gifts, and appraisal. Kilgore High School senior Kai Tucker had recently battled stage 2B Hodgkin Lymphoma and said the program has supported him and his family through their journey.
"I'm actually 16 months off treatment right now and they've kind of been there for me at hard times," Tucker said. "My mom is a teacher so she took family and medical leave and left teaching for six months for the whole semester. It was a lot, but I think we ultimately grew a lot closer together."
Rucker said stories like Tucker's are the reason why she wants to not just celebrate the survivors but the parents that are by their side as well.
"It's just incredible to see them finally have an event that is for them, when they've never seen that before," Tucker said.
Survivors in attendance wore T-shirts with the word 'hero' in gold lettering. A wall also held pictures of those survivors and the of those who lost their battle to cancer.
Whitehouse resident Jaselynn Kornegay recently celebrated a milestone recovery after being diagnosed with leukemia.
"I got my cord out and just rang the bell and I have to go every other month, but they just draw my blood and do checkups," Kornegay said.
A special segment of the event included having survivors walk down a gold carpet with their family as they receive cheers and appraisals. Frankston resident Rebekah Batchelor is also recovering from leukemia and took full advantage of walking the gold carpet.
"I think it's good for us to relive our childhood memories and teen memories," Batchelor said. "I just thank Ms. Heather Rucker and everybody else that goes to Tyler Christian Fellowship."
The program will continue to raise awareness all monthlong with their 9th annual East Texas Gold Run on Sept. 23.