A fundraiser for an incurable form of cancer was held in Prince George Saturday.
The 2nd Multiple Myeloma March is an event to raise funds and increase awareness for clinical research towards finding a cure. The PG march is the first of a record 23 communities participating this year with a national fundraising goal of $550,000.
Cyndi Logan, a 43-year-old mother of three who has been living with myeloma for about four years, says she lost four inches in height because of damage caused by the disease. Life expectancy with myeloma has doubled over the last decade, with many patients living ten or more years thanks to advances in research and new treatment options.
“We want people to live longer with therapies they can tolerate instead of being so sick that you can’t live your life and you have no quality of life, we want patients to have quality of life and we do want their life to be longer,” says Logan, who goes on to explain challenges myeloma patients face.
“There is extreme fatigue, most myeloma patients deal with chronic pain because myeloma does cause bone damage, it is a disease of the immune system essentially, a lot of patients have low immunity and a lot of myeloma patients die from pneumonia and infections opposed to the actual cancer.”
Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells found in bone marrow. Although it is generally referred to as a blood cancer, myeloma specifically affects the immune system. Cause(s) of the disease are currently unknown.
“Many look at myeloma as a death sentence, but there is hope,” Logan said in a statement.
“If we continue to support initiatives like the Multiple Myeloma March, I am convinced the quality of life of members of the myeloma community will keep on improving.”
The fundraising goal for PG this year is $15,000. The total will be updated once released.
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