Hills Woman's Fundraiser Honors Heroes Battling Blood Cancer

Three years ago, Farmington resident Lynn Gaunt received a flier in the mail about the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team in Training program.

"I was getting more involved in exercise," she said. "I went to a meeting, and they were talking about biking and walking. ... Then somebody said something about hiking."

Gaunt, who had always enjoyed hiking, was hooked. Since then, she has climbed in and out of the Grand Canyon and hiked in Yosemite National Park. This year, the goal is to hike in Zion National Park in Utah. But first, she has to raise more than $3,000.

In February, she hosted a scrapbooking event at Archivers in Novi. And this Sunday, she has organized a family party at in downtown Farmington, where guests will play electronic and board games, watch the Detroit Tigers play the Oakland A's and enjoy snacks and entertainment.

Admission for the 2 p.m. event is a $20 donation, which includes a burger, fries, beverage and entertainment. There will also be a raffle with prizes that include a hockey puck autographed by Red Wings player Kris Draper, microbrewed beers, a painting set donated by and gift cards from , Bagger Dave's and the Caddy Shack. And everyone will enjoy popcorn delivered by the .

Gaunt said local businesses have been extremely generous. But her friend and hero, cancer survivor Alicia Buisst, said Gaunt has a knack for collecting great raffle gifts.

"She's got the Midas touch," said the 46-year-old Brighton resident, who was diagnosed in June 2006 with myleodysplastic syndrome (MDS). She said the disease is rare in someone her age.

Buisst had a stem cell transplant in July of 2009, has been in remission since January 2010 and has spent the past 18 months recovering. She also got involved with Team in Training after receiving a brochure in the mail, and she signed up to run her first marathon in August of 2010.

"I thought this was the right thing at the right time," Buisst said. "I felt it was my responsibility, because I survived it, to help others."

The training offered also helped her gain weight and get healthy again. As a survivor, Buisst is an "honored hero" in the Team in Training program. Gaunt has also adopted another hero, Farmington resident Joe Niemiec, who is currently undergoing maintenance chemotherapy for lymphoma.

Niemiec said he was diagnosed in 2000 and went through several regimens of chemotherapy. In 2005, he and his wife, Gloria, went to Arizona to visit his cousin's Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine & Acupuncture. Joe Niemiec started taking herbs and acupuncture treatments, and his tests remained clear until this past November.

Now he said he takes one day of chemo every two months. In between, he runs a family business.

"I'm retired from Ford (Motor Co.)," he said, "but my wife thought my retirement was not fulfilling enough, so we started Best Friends Animal Care. There are times I work harder at that than I did at Ford."

Gloria Niemiec and Gaunt met while working at in Farmington Hills, and that's how Joe Niemiec became one of Gaunt's heroes. But he said she and Buisst are the heroes for taking on such a large and physically challenging fundraising effort.

While Niemiec hasn't made use of Leukemia & Lymphoma Society services, he said he appreciates the work the organization is doing for the next generation. The LLS mission is to find a cure for blood cancers by 2015.

Buisst, who just did her first 13-mile Team in Training walk in Phoenix, also thinks a lot about the children who are affected by blood cancers.

"I know what it's like to be plugged into machines for months," she said. "I don't want to see little kids have to do that. When times get tough ... I stop myself, and I remember that."

For more information or to contact Gaunt, visit her Team in Training page.

Correction: The date of Alicia Buisst's stem cell transplant was incorrectly reported. It was July 2009, and she has been in remission since January 2010.