Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation Race for Research

Think of all the types of cancers that you know about. Your list probably includes breast cancer, lung cancer, leukemia, and maybe a handful of others. One that you may not be familiar with, however, is myeloma. This type of cancer attacks the plasma cells and, thus, affects the entire body. Although several treatment options are available to treat myeloma, no cure has been found. Myeloma is the second most common type of blood cancer and accounts for 1-2% of all cancer cases in the U.S. Healthy plasma cells, which originate from B cells, eventually become anitbodies that fight disease in the body. However, malignant cancer cells prevent the normal growth of antibodies in the body. Those with myeloma have a variety of symptoms, including difficulty fighting bacterial infections and osteoporosis.

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) is one of the leading organizations who are researching new treatments of myeloma. On October 26, 2008, the MMRF is hosting the Race for Research, a 5k in Atlanta, GA. I am a part of Team Dave which is honor of Dave Perkins. Dave was diagnosed in 2007. He went through both chemotherapy and radiation. Thankfully, his body responded to these treatments, and he is now doing very well.

If you would like to register for the event, you can do so here.