Community Corner

Family Tries to Cope as Son Fights Brain Cancer

Casino benefit latest fundraiser for Long Valley 13-year-old.

Weeks spent in Europe seeking alternative treatment for their son’s brain cancer has left the Lightner family short on finances, despite various fundraisers by the Long Valley community to help support the local family.

Glenn Lightner, 13, has been battling anaplastic ependymoma grade III brain cancer since 2007. The Long Valley Middle School student has undergone numerous brain surgeries to remove tumors, the most recent of which took .

From to and a , the Long Valley community has continued to assist the family and their eldest son find the treatment he needs to overcome the disease.

Find out what's happening in Long Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

More coverage of how the Long Valley community has come together for the Lightner family. 

The fundraising has kicked up again, as friends of the Lightner family have come together—as they did for the Rally event, which pulled in $36,000—to help the teen find the cure he’s been seeking for nearly five years.

Find out what's happening in Long Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

, a local limousine and charter bus company, is donating three of its buses and drivers to take those interested to Mt. Airy Casino in Pennsylvania on Sunday, Oct. 28.

An extension of the Rally in the Valley event, organizer Dorene Rettas said the event is limited to the first 160 people. Cost is $50 per person, which includes $25 toward slot play and a $10 meal voucher.

All proceeds will benefit the Lightner family in their pursuit to find a cure for their son’s brain cancer.

The buses will leave from the Washington Township Park & Ride on Route 46 just East of the Target department store at 10 a.m. There will be five hours of play, Rettas said, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with an estimated return time of 5 p.m.

Tickets will be sold on a first come, first-served basis. For more information or to order, call Dorene Rettas at 973-713-1097.


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