Team Lorraine

Your donation to Lorraine’s daughter’s will be matched by anonymous donors who were motivated by Katerina’s blog post, A Mother’s Day Wish. They will match donations made to Kenzie, Kellan and Katerina by June 21*!

“Reading Katerina’s story on mother’s day moved us so much, we wanted to find a way to help these three adorable girls. We want to accelerate the research to find a cure for Multiple Myeloma before their mother relapses,” explained the matching donors, who would prefer to remain anonymous.

Multiple Myeloma is a treatable but incurable blood plasma cancer. Lorraine was diagnosed with the disease just days after giving birth to her youngest daughter. Please help us keep this family together by sponsoring them today.

Double your impact by sponsoring Kenzie, Kellan or Katerina. teamlorraine.com/double

*all donations made to Kenzie, Kellan and Katerina between May 31 – June 21 will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $1,500.

Randy Sharrard (Team Randy), David Bloom (Pharmacy All-stars), Gabriella Sharrard (Team Randy)

I met Randy and Gabriella at last year’s MM5K Team Captains kick-off party. They are a fun, dynamic couple, full of enthusiasm to support the research to find a cure for Multiple Myeloma. But this year, it is far more urgent. Just four weeks ago, Randy relapsed. He’s back on weekly Chemotherapy.

“It’s one big injection and then I go home and take 22 pills,” Randy told me.

Randy was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in August 2012.  After six months of weekly chemo, he had a stem cell transplant in March 2013. He didn’t qualify for any of the clinical trials this time due to kidney damage caused by his first battle with Multiple Myeloma.

“We have always known that there is no cure and that everyone will relapse”, writes Randy on his Team Randy fundraising page. “It is NOW more important than ever to raise money for Multiple Myeloma research at The Princess Margaret.  Research is the KEY to a CURE!”

Team Randy at the 2014 MM5K

Everyone will relapse. That’s like a punch to the gut!

It is something that none of us want to think about, but it is the reality that Randy, David, Lorraine and every other Multiple Myeloma patient deals with every day.

We are so fortunate that Lorraine is still in remission. At the Team Captain event, I learned that a long remission is really exceptional. That’s why our goal to raise $15,000 this year is so important – to find a cure before Lorraine relapses.

Let’s help them find a cure. Sponsor Team Randy and Team Lorraine. Because giving up is not an option.

My name is Katerina and I am six. My mom has had Multiple Myeloma all my life. She found out right after I was born. For Mother’s Day, I want to make her cancer go away. Can you help me?

My Mom doesn’t look sick right now, but she has to to see special doctors in Toronto, a long way from our house in Peterborough. They do tests to see if her cancer has come back. They say it will come back but they don’t know when.

Every year we get up really early and ride in the mini-van to Toronto. We all wear the same shirt and hat as everyone else. We get to walk right on the road with lots and lots of other people and the cars can’t drive on the streets. All these people want to end my Mom’s cancer too. This year I’m big enough to walk the whole way by myself.

Can you sponsor me? The money is for the scientists who are doing experiments to find a way to make my Mom better.

You can find my special page on the computer at www.teamlorraine.com/KaterinaMcCallum

Thank you,

Katerina

Update: June 1, 2015 – Anonymous donors, so moved by Katerina’s blog, have pledged to match all donations made to her and her sister’s between May 31 – June 21, up to $1,500. Double your impact by sponsoring Lorraine’s girls at teamlorraine.com/girls.

When Lorraine was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2008, the prognosis was only three to eight years. Thanks to the research at Princess Margaret that our team supports, that prognosis is now 10 years or more! And for a mother of three growing girls, every day makes a difference. A huge difference.

Lorraine is currently in remission but when she relapses, we want to be ready with an effective treatment or better yet, a cure. That is why we continue to walk and continue to raise money to end Multiple Myeloma.

On June 21, 2015, Lorraine will be leading our team in a 5km walk down University Avenue in our 7th MM5K. Please help us reach our goal of $15,000 in 2015. Every dollar makes a difference.

Please sponsor our team at www.teamlorraine.com/sponsor

See more photos from the kick-off event on the Team Lorraine Facebook page.

Cindy Leder is a fixture at every MM event, distributing t-shirts, cheering us on and thanking us for our participation! Her enduring dedication to ending Multiple Myeloma is very inspiring.

Cindy was abruptly introduced to the world of Multiple Myleoma in 2000 when her husband Harley Ulster, was diagnosed with the disease – a treatable but incurable blood plasma cancer. If her husband had to live with it for the rest of his life, so did she.

Realizing that we are all more powerful when we work together, Leder started the MM5K along with Carolyn Henry, a MM patient from London, Ontario. “Together, we advocated for two state-of-the-art cancer treatments (Velcade & Revlimid) and saw each one passed and paid for by the Ontario Government, which elicited a domino effect and impacted MM patients nationwide”.

Unfortunately, Harley lost his 11 year battle with Multiple Myeloma in 2011. But Leder continues to fight. What keeps her going? “Because giving up is not an option.”

Leder knows that “it is clear that our fundraising efforts support research and research is the key to a cure. So we will continue.”

You can read Cindy’s full story on the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation blog: Cindy Leder’s Journey to Conquer Cancer.

We will not give up either! Team Lorraine is raising funds to find a cure for Multiple Myeloma in the MMK5 on June 21, 2015. Please join us in this epic battle: sponsor Team Lorraine or join our team… because giving up is not an option!

Team Lorraine 2014

It was a hot and sunny day when Team Lorraine gathered next to the Princess Margaret Hospital in downtown Toronto to walk in support of research to find a cure for Multiple Myeloma. This mighty team raised over $18,000 to support The Molly and David Bloom Chair at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. The Bloom Chair supports a major, international centre for Multiple Myeloma research and is on the cutting edge of innovative, life-extending treatments for this treatable, but incurable cancer.

Having suffered with mysterious back pain for years, Lorraine was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma just days after her third daughter was born. Thanks to a new, experimental treatment at Princess Margaret Hospital and a bone marrow transplant, and lots of healing, Lorraine is now in remission. But she knows that this is only temporary, so we must continue to raise awareness of Multiple Myeloma and raise the funds that are vital to support the researchers to find a cure.

This was Team Lorraine’s sixth year participating in the Multiple Myeloma: M-Moving Together Toward the Cure.

>> See more photos of Team Lorraine 2014

Reasons to walk the MM5K on June 22.

Lorraine looks fabulous. It is hard to believe that she has cancer, but she does. Her Multiple Myeloma is currently in remission, but we know that this is not permanent.

When Lorraine’s cancer comes back, her Doctors will try to find a drug that will stop the cancer again. Each year, the researchers at Princess Margaret Hospital (that this walk helps support) work to find new treatments that improve the lives of those living with Multiple Myeloma, and ultimately, a cure to this cancer.

Lorraine’s three daughters have benefited immensely from the experimental treatment she received five years ago. They are three of the reasons why I am walking in the MM5K on June 22.

Please help us in the fight for Lorraine’s life. Please sponsor Team Lorriane at teamlorraine.com/sponsor.

My Mother’s Day gift five years ago was my stem cell transplant.  I spent a lot of time watching spring unfold outside, longing to leave my hospital room and be done with it.  In my mind, I imagined myself as a phoenix rising from the ashes – renewed, to live through another cycle of years.

I find it empowering, with my unpredictable health, to support the research that has made it possible for me to be here five years later.  Our doctors at Princess Margaret are truly wonderful – top world experts, yet caring clinicians.  By helping to fund their research, I am helping them, I am helping myself, and I am helping all Myeloma patients.  Join me in this powerful work!  www.teamlorraine.com/2014.

Katerina was born the week I was diagnosed. She has been in the MM5K Walk every year of her life!

The MM5K Walk is a part of our family life – just like Multiple Myeloma is.  I am aiming to be here for Mother’s Days to come – join me!

On June 22, Team Lorraine will be walking in support of Multiple Myeloma research and life stabilizing drugs through the Molly and David Bloom Chair at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

We are thrilled to be participating for our sixth year because each year marks another victory against this incurable cancer. Lorraine is currently enjoying her remission, however, we know that it is not permanent. That is why we must continue to find better treatments and ultimately a cure for Multiple Myeloma.

Please join us and help conquer cancer in our lifetime!

• Sponsor Team Lorraine
• Join our team and help us raise funds to find a cure.