Parkland Teacher Raises Awareness For Leukemia And Lymphoma

By Elyssa Schwartz
Staff Intern

“If you think running a marathon is hard, try chemotherapy!”
This quote can be seen on t-shirts of Leukemia and Lymphoma Society members.
Over the years, Parkland teacher Cynthia Boyd has raised a total of $1,810 towards the $2,400 goal.  
Boyd, an educator at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, is a major supporter of the society. Although she does not have the disease, she wants to help raise money for those in need.
“I joined Team in Training after my neighbor, Roy Feifer, came over to recruit me. He said it would be a great way to get in shape and to run a marathon, you meet really great people and it's for a great cause. Everywhere I go for fundraising or if someone sees my Leukemia/Lymphoma shirt and hat, people run to me with stories of how awesome and helpful the society was to them when they had a relative going through treatments,” said Boyd.
She has held many fundraisers including “Happy Hour” at Buffalo’s where she sold tickets for a $10 donation to the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society, in return, customers were allowed to get a free drink. Boyd also sold beads at her school through the science club and teddy bears at Publix, the Riverglade’s Craft Fair and the Lion’s Club Craft Fair.
“Several of the people on my team are surviving Lymphoma or some other type of cancer. Several people on my team have had family members die from one of these blood cancers. One of the guys I run with every Saturday is a Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma survivor and he is in his early fifties. Every time I am struggling and ready to walk, I just look at him and this gives me motivation,” said Boyd.
The group members go to various venues to hand out pamphlets and put up banners. The information promotes new people to join the Cycling team. The team trains to do the 100-mile endurance bike ride around Lake Tahoe.
“We meet every Saturday at The Cove shopping center on Hillsboro and run across the inter-coastal bridge, down the sidewalk at the pier until we get to the A1A trail that runs along the road. We will run all the way up to Highland Beach and back. During the week, we are supposed to run between four and five miles two days a week and cross-train two days a week,” said Boyd.
Last month, Boyd participated in the Full Disney Marathon. The group started at Epcot; ran to Animal Kingdom, then to MGM and finished at Epcot.
“I made it, and I finished under the 7 hour deadline,” she said.
Boyd stays active in the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society by contributing to help find a cure for blood cancers by promoting people to support the cause.
“It is a great organization and a worthy cause. I am so glad I joined,” said Boyd.

.