For Vicki.

I’ve spent the last few months watching up close how cancer can affect not only the patient but the family, as well.

My mother, Vicki Rothman, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer late last year.

Since that diagnosis, I’ve witnessed the surgeries, the pain, the treatment and my mom shaving her head because she was ashamed of all the hair that was coming out in clumps.

I have been covering cancer events and writing survivor stories for almost three years but just now have my eyes been opened with a behind-the-scenes look.

Before my mother, some of these stories were just that, just stories. Now they are something much more.

Through my recent experiences, I have been awakened to the hope that comes with the tragedy.

One story involves a mother, Kathy Pacheco, and her son, Kyle Pacheco, who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia on March 21, 2002. He was 14.

Kathy and Kyle Pacheco are a shining example of what I only hope to oneday emulate with my own mother.

In honor of her son and his battle with leukemia, Kathy Pacheco of Lake Worth has been participating in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training program since 2007.

Lacy Kreamer, spokeswoman for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, said Team In Training prepares participants to run or walk a marathon, half marathon, triathlon or 100-mile bike ride.

Kreamer said the participants then raise money to help find cures for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma.

Kathy will start training in Lake Worth with her team May 9 for her 13.1 mile walk in San Francisco set for Oct. 18. She said she needs to raise $4,200 from donations to get to San Fran, but her goal is $10,000.

Kyle is serving as the team’s Honored Hero for the second year. Kathy is also volunteering as one of the team’s mentors. She will support new participants to help them reach their fundraising and fitness goals.

This will be Kathy’s third time completing the Nike Women’s Marathon with Team In Training. She has raised more than $13,000 thus far.

“It’s all worth it,” she said. “One moment that I wake up to thinking about everyday is when I finished the San Francisco marathon and fell right into Kyle’s arms, who was waiting for me at the finish line.”

Treatment for Kyle has been a constant struggle and up-and-down battle.

The first year of treatment was tough on Kyle, but he said it was worse the second year when he relapsed in his spinal fluid.

He began another round of chemotherapy and radiation but that did not stop the disease. Cancer then returned yet again December 2006. It was found in his left eye.

Kyle’s only hope for survival was a Bone Marrow Transplant. His sister, Colette was a match. On February 7, 2006, Kyle underwent his Bone Marrow Transplant at Duke University Hospital.

Even with the transplant, Kyle’s recovery is still an ongoing battle. In 2007, Kyle took a serious turn for the worse and spent nine months in the hospital suffering from Spinal Meningitis and had a stroke.

A decision was made to have his femurs shaved where they connect with the hips, which has left him without the ability to walk.

Kathy Pacheco said Kyle is dealing with cellulitis right now and is getting oral treatment to get it under control.

“The next step, if he is up to it, is to return to Duke in the future to have his hips replaced,” she said. “As far as walking goes, that will put him back in the game and he can go to physical therapy.”

Over the next few months, while raising money and helping to mentor her group, Kathy Pacheco will continue to wake up at 4 a.m. every morning to train.

Why does she do this?

“For Kyle, he supports me 100 percent,” she said with no hesitation.

Kathy Pacheco gives me hope that one day I can do for my mother what she is doing for her son and build the type of unbreakable bond they obviously had, even before cancer.

For more information on the Teams in Training, including sign up dates and event schedules, call (888) 478-8550or visit www.teamintraining.org/pb.

Mike Rothman can be reached at mkrothman@tribune.com.