Ed Schwartz has been an ecological crusader for most of his life, striving for years to preach the benefits of Mother Nature and preserve a clean and natural environment for everyone. His fight, indeed, has been everyone's fight.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ED SCHWARTZ

Ed Schwartz gets a helping hand and a haircut from his son, Kyle. A registry drive is being held Sunday to find a donor for Ed Schwartz, who is battling a rare form of acute myeloid leukemia.

But Schwartz is now facing a new, personal battle, one that he and those close to him hope will rally community support. Known fondly to many throughout the metropolitan area as Eco Ed and the Eco-Warrior, Schwartz was diagnosed in November with a rare form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a fast-multiplying cancer that invades the blood and bone marrow.

A village resident and frequent guest columnist for The Ridgewood News, Schwartz needs a stem cell transplant from a donor unrelated to his family. On Sunday, Jan. 5, residents are encouraged to attend a donor drive to help find Schwartz's match - someone who can donate the needed white blood cells - though thousands of other patients in need of a transplant can also benefit from the program's donors.

This Sunday's drive is similar to one held last month for 19-year-old Anthony Daniels, a Ridgewood High School graduate who was diagnosed in 2011 with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Acute myeloid leukemia begins in bone marrow, specifically in cells that should develop into specialized white blood cells. In AML cases, cell DNA becomes mutated, and that damaged genetic material is passed on during cell reproduction. In addition, those cells fail to fully mature.

Over time, according to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the immature cells "take over the bone marrow and displace" regular red and white blood cells and platelets. In many AML cases, the cancer will progress rapidly into the blood and may spread to other body parts, including lymph nodes, liver and brain.

The effects of cancer came on "out of left field," said Schwartz, noting that he never showed any symptoms until they hit all at once in early November. He noted that a trip to the emergency room was followed the next day with the diagnosis and immediate chemotherapy treatments. He hopes to undergo stem cell transplant surgery as soon as a donor is found.

Since then, Schwartz has stopped working at his full-time job and put other projects, such as volunteering on the Ridgewood Environmental Advisory Committee, on hold as well. His wife also is taking time off from work to care for him.

Read more:
Eco-Warrior from Ridgewood seeks support for new fight

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