I want to thank everyone who has donated so far and those of you that are about to. I have reached my minimum goal of $2500. However, if it wasn't for LLS, my mother wouldn't be here today and for that reason I will NEVER stop raising funds and awareness of the good things LLS does to help stomp out blood cancers.

Please help me help others. Make a donation today.

I want to thank everyone that has donated or helped me one way or another to reach my goal.

It looks like I am only a few dollars from reaching my fundraising minimum goal. Please keep the donations coming as every dollar still is needed to help beat blood cancer. No donation is too small, so look in those couch cushions for that loose change and donated today. THANK YOU!

I really need your help. I was hoping to have most if not ALL of my fundraising done by the middle of July so that i can focus solely on my training for my first marathon. I am a far way from my goal of $2500. Please help me by making a donation NOW, not later and ask your friends and family to match your donation. Every bit counts and even the smallest of donations can add up to a big help. THANK YOU!!!!

I guess to really understand why I really want to run in the NIKE Women's Marathon, you need to understand just how much my mom means to me.

I have two beautiful kids, Lucas, 3 years old and Amee, 1. My mom comes over almost every day, since she lives next door. Everyday Amee is learning new things and my mom doesn’t want to miss a new word or accomplishment.

Well, my family is very lucky to have this opportunity. Back in 2001, my mom was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. For quite some time my mom wasn't feeling well. She had pain in her joints and she just figured it was just part of getting old. She started wearing magnet bracelets that were suppose to help with pain. They helped at first. However, as time went by the pain just got worse. So after about a year and a half of living with the pain, my mom found a lump in her lymph nodes. So she decided to go see the doctor.

Now when most people have been diagnosed with cancer they normally get a call from the doctor or they have scheduled a follow up appointment where the doctor tells them the results of any lab work. Well, my mom’s doctor was gone on vacation after he did a biopsy of the lump. My mom called the doctor’s office to find out the results. It was on that call when the nurse told her she had Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. My mom got off the phone and felt relieved, since she thought that “NON” had to mean it was NOT cancer. It wasn’t until my dad googled “Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma” that they both realized it was cancer, and not good news at all.

I will never forget the day my mom sat us down as a family to tell us she had Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. I had never heard of that before. I immediately had the same assumption as my mom. It can’t be bad. Quickly my mom put the kibosh on that, and explained that she had stage 4 cancer. At the time my mom didn’t even have health coverage that was going to cover treatment. So she explained to her 3 kids, my sister, Karen, 20 years old, my baby brother, Brian, only 11 years old, and me, 27 years old, that she wasn’t going to be getting any treatment. We all knew what that meant, but no one said it.

Thankfully after a few weeks my mom got new coverage and was able to get treatment. My mom had the best oncologist ever. I say this from the bottom of my heart because she told my mom she was giving her a treatment that wasn’t the “normal” treatment Kaiser used. My mom was given 6 chemotherapy treatments of the new drug Rituxan. It was a long and tough road for my mom. She worked the entire time she was sick and losing her hair. She was self employed, working with my dad so their business was the only source of income. During her treatment she got a skin infection. Because her white blood cell counts were down from treatment, she got so sick and was admitted to the hospital for a week. Throughout her treatment I would call her almost daily just to check on her. Most of the time when I would ask how she was, she would lie to me and tell me she felt fine. She really wanted to stay strong for her kids.

Thankfully she is strong. Even after being told she had stage 4 cancer, that it was also in her bone marrow, she NEVER gave up the fight. My mom only had the original 6 treatments of Rituxan and has been cancer free now for over 10 years.

When I think that so much of this story could have ended differently, it really makes me thankful for so much. Had my mom never seen the doctor, had my mom never found coverage that allowed her to receive treatment, had her oncologist stuck to the “normal” treatment, my mom might not be here today.

Since my mom kicked cancer’s ass she has seen her youngest graduate middle school, high school, and grow into a smart, strong man who is now serving our country. She seen my little sister grow so much into the beautiful woman she is today with her body building accomplishments and meeting the man of her dreams. And thankfully, with my mom still here today, she was able to see me get married to the man of my dreams and the joy that comes with becoming a grandmother.

Now all of this is also possible in large part of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If it wasn’t for the many years and millions of dollars that LLS donated to research and testing of Rituxan, it would not have been available to my mom in 2001. Every year LLS donates millions to research. Last year they funded over $70 million to blood cancer research. Cumulatively since they were founded they have funded $875 million to research. But LLS also helps those who can’t afford treatment or the cost of their medication.

Please help me, help LLS. Please either go to my fundraising page to make a donation or mail me a check made out to LLS with your donation. Your donation will help so many people who currently have a blood cancer and help those years from now by funding research going on today. It will secure me a spot in the upcoming 2013 NIKE Women’s Marathon so that I can run in my mom’s honor.

THANK YOU

Christine Sells

143 Brown St #2

Vacaville, CA 95688

707-536-5789

Teams are made up of individuals. Without them, there is no team.

Welcome to my Team In Training home page.

I have a mission-to help find cures and more effective treatments for blood cancers. To accomplish that mission, I’m participating in a sports endurance event as a member of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training. Like the other members of TNT, I will be raising funds to help find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. I’m improving the quality of my life by participating and with your support, I can help improve the quality of life for patients and their families as well.

Please make a donation in support of my efforts with Team In Training and help advance the research for cures.

To follow more about me and my running adventures please follow my blog at

http://mombitbyrunningbug.blogspot.com/