Kathy Bates gets her wish as stars celebrate top #LymphWalk fundraisers

Actor Billy Bob Thornton, actress Angela Bassett, Lymphatic Education and Research Network Executive Director William Repicci, actress Kathy Bates, President/CEO of The Krim Group Todd Krim, actresses Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor and actor Cheyenne J

At last year’s cocktail party honoring top fundraisers for the CA Run/Walk to Fight Lymphedema & Lymphatic Diseases, Kathy Bates (spokesperson for the Lymphatic Education & Research Network – LE&RN) told the crowd she wanted the event to get bigger every year and for more people to become aware of what has been called a silent “lymphedemic®.” This year, the Academy Award-winning actress saw her vision become a reality.

Last night, Hollywood friends Angela Bassett, Billy Bob Thornton, Cheyenne Jackson, Sarah Paulson, and Holland Taylor joined Ms. Bates at the Huntley Hotel Regal Room in Santa Monica at a reception to kick off this year’s Walk on June 26th. Bates, who acknowledges that she has lymphedema, has dedicated herself to making lymphedema a national priority in the name of all those suffering from lymphatic diseases. Up to 10 million Americans have lymphedema, which is often underdiagnosed, underfunded, and ignored even though it is disfiguring, disabling, and can lead to deadly complications.

Bates became a spokesperson for LE&RN at the 2014 Walk in New York City. Since then, she has appeared on numerous television shows, been interviewed for magazines, and has traveled to Washington DC to lobby for research funding. She has been determined to use her celebrity to bring awareness to these diseases.

“Maybe if people can put my face on lymphedema," Bates has said, "then more people will be willing to come out of the shadows and talk about it.”

“Last night’s event showed the power of people coming together,” said William Repicci, Executive Director of LE&RN. “The fundraisers who had worked so hard were inspired to see Kathy and other celebrities support their efforts. Lymphedema and lymphatic diseases are truly coming out of the shadows.”