On December 7th, 2015 my aunt Nancy was diagnosed with leukemia, and less than four months later she died from complications.  This upcoming April I will honor her memory by running the 2017 Boston Marathon for Team in Training, the flagship fundraising program for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).

Someone is diagnosed with a blood disease approximately every three minutes and dies of the disease every nine minutes.  The mission of LLS is to "cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families."  Along with research the organization focuses on education and support of patients and their families as well as advocacy for the development of and access to new treatments.

A donation to my Team in Training fundraiser is a step toward finding a cure for blood cancers.  During my aunt’s short time with the disease she underwent chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant from my mother, and had started a trial drug.  Although she succumbed to the effects of the disease, my family and I feel thankful for the past research that allowed doctors to develop this extensive treatment plan.   My hope is that with more support of organizations like LLS we will eventually find a cure and others will not have to suffer or lose loved ones.

If you would like to join my fundraising campaign and help raise funds to cure cancer, let me know!