SUNBURY - Two fund-raising events will be held in the near future for Dave Burns, of the Selinsgrove area, who is battling a rare blood cancer and needs a full bone marrow transplant to survive.
The David Burns Transplant Fund Bone Marrow Drive and Yard Sale will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25, at Faith United Methodist Church, 203 Arch St.
The David Burns Transplant Fund Zumbathon will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, at the Sunbury Elks.
Burns, who is a well-known and active member of the Selinsgrove area community, operated Burns' Tae Kwon Do in Selinsgrove for 25 years before becoming a corporate trainer. He most recently worked at the research center at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, where he is now a patient in the hematology department on the eighth floor.
The 56-year-old Burns has been battling acute myelogenous leukemia for the past 20 years and is preparing for his fourth bone marrow transplant scheduled for the end of the month. A donor has been chosen for the transplant that will be conducted when Burns recovers from his second round of chemotherapy. Burns had a mini-transplant last year.
During the last 20 years, Burns has spent time helping with the Relay for Life at Susquehanna University, assisting the American Cancer Society at fund-rasing events, biking 100 miles in one day to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, visiting and offering advice and support to numerous leukemia patients in the area.
Burns' wife, Pamela Brennan Burns, is the manger at First National Bank of Pennsylvania at 10 N. Market St., Shamokin.
According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, a bone marrow transplant costs approximately $800,000. Insurance will cover some of the costs, but will not cover the expenses involved with finding a donor, obtaining the donor's cells for transplant and post-transplant needs.
Donations for the yard sale can be made by contacting Anna at 279-0061. To join, give or volunteer at the bone marrow drive, contact Sarah Brooks Horan or email her at Sbrooks@nmdp.org.
