Team in Training!

After my diagnosis I received an outpouring of love and support from all my friends and family, including my friends from Team in Training (TNT) and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. In fact, the Minnesota Chapter of TNT has created their first ever cross-country ski team and has named me as their honored teammate.

So of course, I’m signed up as a participant as well! I will be training for the 25k City of Lakes Loppet, here in Minneapolis on February 5, 2012 (www.cityoflakesloppet.com). I do not know how to ski. I’m sort of a klutz and I don’t really like being out in the cold. But I live in Minnesota, and for the past few years I’ve been saying that I should get a hobby that gets me out and enjoying this winter wonderland. And it’s the TNT inaugural ski team and I’m ready to start giving back – how could I not sign up?

If you need more, here are a few more reasons I’ll be out there, freezing my you-know-what and hitting all my loved ones up for donations:

1) During my appointments, I saw so many other cancer patients less fortunate than me. For one appointment, we sat in the waiting room with pediatric cancer patients and their parents. They were bald, in wheelchairs, wearing masks, or any combination of those. Later, when I was going to radiation, I would often run before or after my appointments. Sometimes I would bike to the University. I would walk in to the waiting room in my exercise clothes, holding my bike helmet, while around me were people in wheelchairs, attached to IV pumps, wearing masks, holding emesis basins. I participate in honor of all these people.

2) There is a high likelihood that the MPNST was caused by the radiation I had for the bone marrow transplant I had in 1989 to treat leukemia. While I’m thankful for the 22 years of almost perfect health the BMT gave me, I don’t want others to have to go through a second diagnosis. I train in order to find a cure that doesn’t cause other problems down the road – and, hey, how about one that doesn’t make one sick while we’re at it?

3) While the money raised by TNT goes to fund research for a cure for leukemia and lymphoma, these treatments are often used for other cancers down the line. For example, Gleevec, a drug developed by Dr. Brian Druker to treat chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), is now being used to treat certain types of breast cancer and even a type of sarcoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). I recently learned that this is because leukemia and lymphoma cells are “free” in the blood, and therefore “countable” – it’s much easier to measure the effect a drug has on the cancer cells.

4) That being said, because blood cancers are not as prevalent as other diseases, it may be difficult to find the funding necessary for drug development. In fact, when Dr. Druker was developing Gleevec he encountered difficulty obtaining drug company support - the drug wasn’t a high priority since only 5000 people are diagnosed with CML each year, and proving that it was both safe and effective would require a substantial investment. LLS started supporting his research in 1995, clinical trials started in 1998, and in 2001 the FDA approved Gleevec to treat CML. So I’m helping to fund research for diseases that might not otherwise receive attention – and that, in turn, could help all cancers.

5) A cancer diagnosis is tough. This was my second time around and I work in medical research, and it was still overwhelming. LLS supports blood cancer patients not only by funding research, but by informing them, connecting them with the latest therapy options and blood cancer clinical trials, and also by providing financial support. As for me, I received love and support from the staff and from all the TNT participants whom I’ve met over the last few years. The people of TNT are amazing – of course I’d want to spend another season with them, training together in order to save lives!

I have pledged to raise $2000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - please consider making a donation. All donations are 100% tax deductible and approximately 76% of the funds raised will go directly to research. You can donate online on my Web site: pages.teamintraining.org/mn/cityofla12/celias

If you'd prefer to mail in a donation, let me know and I'll send you my mailing address.

GO TEAM!