UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - The first ever Light the Night event in Utica takes place Saturday night to help out The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which funds cancer research.

And one local teenager's future is brighter for the advanced treatments available.

On the outside, Michael Buas appears to be a normal teenager. He waits tables at his family's restaurant - The Acropolis, travels the world, and attends college. But on the inside, he's fighting a terrible disease - leukemia.

"At 18, especially, you don't realize how life is and then you hear that everything changes," Buas said.

Once diagnosed, Buas flew to Houston to receive treatment. He had to weigh his options - some which had life-altering side effects.

"At 18, I had to sign a paper that I would never have kids and I could never have a drink and I'm like...at 18 I'm not signing something like that," he said.

The teen chose to try an advanced cancer treatment, which comes in the form of a pill called "Gleevec."

"It kills only the bad cells the leukemia and not any of the good," he said.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society helped fund research efforts to develop the pill, which Buas will take once a day for the next five years. A small task to do he says, when it means fulfilling his dreams.

"I say day by day, you always have to live for each day because before its like you never think anything could happen to you and then you're diagnosed with something like that and you never know."