Kristal Lana has worked in the restaurant industry—her first gig was behind the front desk at Seattle’s Palomino—for 18 years. Most recently, the 38-year-old helped longtime friend Brian Hutmacher open Toulouse Petit on Lower Queen Anne, managing the front of the house. But last November, she knew she had to make a change. Working 70 hours a week at one of the busiest bars in Seattle had taken its toll and Lana noticed she was losing a lot of weight. When she was diagnosed with adrenal gland failure, her doctor told her it was time for her to leave behind the stresses and debauches of the restaurant world for a more lowkey lifestyle. She took medical leave from Toulouse.

A longtime yoga practitioner, Lana took the opportunity to get her teacher’s certificate in vinyasa flow. The practice involved a lot of chest work moving through push-up positions, and Lana and her doctors speculate that something happened while she was doing the training exercises that pushed the tumor in her breast forward, allowing her to feel it. This may well have saved her life. She was diagnosed with an advanced, fast-moving cancer, and within 30 days she’d had a mastectomy. Lana is currently undergoing chemotherapy.

Lana was fully insured at Toulouse, but while on leave she switched to catastrophic coverage. She laughed (her laugh is scratchy, booming, infectiously friendly) when providers implied that she had switched plans on purpose. “If I was going to switch it, I would have done it the other way. Still, it’s better than nothing.”

When former Showbox owner Jeff Steichen heard about her diagnosis, he approached her with the idea of a benefit. “I know you” Lana says he told her. “You’re going to lock yourself up in that house of yours and try to do this on your own. But you have no idea what’s going to happen to you.” What was going to happen, of course, was that she was going to get three-, four-, and five-figure bills, lots of them, more than she could imagine. “You made a lot of people a lot of money over the years,” Steichen told Lana. “It’s time for those people to give back.”

And they are: On Monday, July 18 Leschi BluWater (owner Bart Evans is another longtime friend and a former employer) is hosting a benefit auction for Lana. It’s called Love Life. Love Lana. F*ck Cancer, and the suggested donation will be $25 at the door. Once inside, partygoers will have the opportunity to bid on trips to Hawaii and New York City, fitness classes, photo shoots, and massages. (See the Facebook page for updates on prizes).

The event will also provide a rare opportunity to taste those much-missed beverages of Murray Stenson—he served Lana her very first drink at a bar and is coming out of semi-retirement to mix cocktails for the occasion. Joe Jeannot, the Tini Bigs legend and current general manager at Toulouse Petit, will also be behind the bar.

Auction aside, Lana says the restaurant community has come out of the woodwork to help her in many ways. They leave casseroles and flowers at her house. People she hasn’t seen for 15 years are stopping by tasking how they can help. Lana says she never really lost faith in humanity—quite a feat for a career restaurant person—but her current experience has certainly deepened her appreciation of it.

“I don’t want to say—I can’t say I’m healthier, of course. But I am incredibly grateful. It has been amazing.”

The benefit auction for Kristal Lana starts at 6pm on July 18. If you want to donate auction items, contact info is on the Facebook page.