A "Fight 2 Live" fundraiser has been planned by Rachel Shur, 28, to help her get her life back to normal, the way it was before she was diagnosed with leukemia days before Christmas 2006.

The 6 p.m. Sun., July 13 benefit will include dinner, dancing and an auction to help the local leukemia survivor and her family. It will cost $25 a person in advance and $35 a person after June 28. For reservations, call (805) 479-1032. A portion of the proceeds will go to the City Of Hope, in Duarte, Calif. The amount is yet to be determined.

"I will wait and see how much I get before I decide how much to give to them," said Shur, a 1998 Westlake High School graduate.

The fundraiser, to be held at an apartment community center at 205 Triunfo Canyon Road, Westlake Village, will also include an auction with items from American Luxury Limousine, Michael Adams Photography, Westlake Golf Course, Bandit's Barbecue and others. Yellow and orange balloons will help guests find their way.

Shur's life-changing ordeal beganin 2006 when she was shopping for shoes to wear at a holiday party. Stopped at a traffic light in Woodland Hills, she was rear-ended by a truck, which pushed her car into the automobile in front of her. As part of her medical care after the accident, blood tests were run, and Shur learned she had leukemia and that it was in the final stages, she said.

The doctors said she had only a 20 percent chance of survival, and they were concerned she might not even survive the two-hour ambulance drive to the City of Hope, where she would receive her treatment, she recalled.

"I remember singing with the ambulance guys the whole way. We sang songs with the radio and had a really good time during those two hours. My mom, who was worried the whole time, was surprised to see all the laughter and smiles when the ambulance got there," Shur said.

At the time, she had no medical insurance and was given emergency Medi-Cal.

The cancer, it turned out, was not only in her blood but also in her spinal fluid and brain. After a stem cell transplant, Shur is now in remission and hopes to make a full recovery.

Now she's fighting for financial survival.

"I don't like to admit I'm poor, but I need money to pay rent and buy food. This has been a real hardship for me and my family," Shur said.