Moving Mountains for Multiple Myeloma (MM4MM) is a collaboration between CURE Media Group and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation to raise awareness

This Moving Mountains team is taking on the continental divide as they plan to conquer 7 peaks over 13,000 feet in 6 days. Their time on the famed Continental Divide will not disappoint as they embark on six days exploring the deep valleys and soaring peaks of the Colorado backcountry from Argentine to Loveland Pass. The team will summit 7 peaks, all above 13,000 feet, on this 26-mile mountain marathon trek. Two of those peaks are the highest points of the Continental Divide; the sister summits of Grays Peak (14,278) and Torrey's Peak (14,275).

Colorado

We are Moving Mountains for Multiple Myeloma. Nice to Meet You.

I am the director of Brand Marketing at the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and have been working here for slightly over a year. When I first joined the MMRF, I knew right away that I wanted to participate in the MM4MM program, not just because I am an avid hiker, but because as a member of the marketing team, we recognize that everything we do is for patients and their families. We are on a critical mission to cure myeloma, and it starts with learning from those who are affected by it most. Myeloma is a rare disease, and it’s my goal to raise awareness of it, so that we can get a cure into patients’ hands faster. I am most looking forward to getting to know each and every person on this team – hearing their personal stories as patients, caregivers, family, friends and supporters of the myeloma community. We’re in this fight together, one step at a time!

Heather Olson

Since 2015, I have worked at Sanofi, a global pharmaceutical company, that is committed to advancing transformative therapies to help the lives of patients living with devastating diseases, such as multiple myeloma. I am thrilled and honored that Sanofi is a proud sponsor of the Moving Mountains for Multiple Myeloma initiative! Prior to my current role within the oncology commercial marketing team, my only exposure to multiple myeloma disease was through my best friend, Danielle, who had two family members (David â€œChipâ€

Deanna DeVito

Mark Herkert

After a routine doctor appointment in September 2019, my life was forever changed – I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, The doctors and myself were in disbelief as very few patients are diagnosed at such a young age. I was young, healthy, and lived a very active lifestyle. This news was devastating to my family and me.
Almost two years later, I can now say that I have reached MRD-negative status after completing my stem cell transplant last May during the pandemic. I’m currently completing my final rounds of maintenance therapy and feel grateful that I will be wrapping up at the end of the year. I’m beyond thankful for my amazing support system with my family and friends by my side. I’ve been able to push through the only way I know how and that’s by staying positive, living my active lifestyle, and doing what I love most, spending time with my family.
I will be participating in the Moving Mountains for Multiple Myeloma program trekking Colorado in September to raise funds and awareness for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF). I found out about this program from my husband as he signed me up when I was first diagnosed. He knew my love for the outdoors and thought this would be a great way for me and our family to bring awareness to Multiple Myeloma. I’m so excited to be part of this program and looking forward to conquering these mountains with our entire team.

Ashley Dobbs

In April of 2015, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. I am an avid hiker, and was hiking trails in my hometown of Tucson, AZ, when I noticed that my back was hurting. I went and saw an acupuncturist who helped me with the pain, but I couldn't get rid of it completely. He said I should go get an X-ray of my back. That's how I found out that I had multiple myeloma. Needless to say, it was devastating news.

I had a stem cell transplant in November of 2015. Unfortunately, the steroids that helped to keep the cancer away also deteriorated my hip, so I had to get a total hip replacement in 2017. Since then, maintenance doses of chemotherapy drugs have kept me relatively healthy and doing the things I love.

When I heard about Moving Mountains for Multiple Myeloma, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. It combines my passion for hiking with my drive to help people with multiple myeloma live longer and have a better quality of life. I'm so grateful for this opportunity to hike seven peaks in Colorado and raise funds for multiple myeloma research!

Scott Sederholm

My Father, Joe, has been battling multiple myeloma since his diagnosis in 2016. His treatment has been the focus of our family for many years. It has been quite an uphill battle from considering different chemotherapy treatments to frequent hospital visits for help with his feeding tube. It has been difficult to see my father endure so much, but I knew my family and I could find community in the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

Early in 2020, I desired to be a part of a movement bigger than myself, while combining a hiking aspect I so enjoyed! I did some research looking up non-profits for multiple myeloma research, and BOOM! The MMRF appeared. I am a shoot-for-the-moon type of person, and I knew that applying for the Moving Mountains program was the right fit for me.

It's such an honor to be a part of the Moving Mountains team raising awareness and funds for multiple myeloma research. I know that I may not be able to fix every ailment that my father might have, but I know that my efforts are going to find a cure someday. It's been so enlightening to be a part of the journey that I have met others that their spouses, aunt/uncles, brothers/sisters, etc. have battled multiple myeloma. I don't feel alone anymore, and I find such peace in that.

I am looking forward to creating relationships with others in the Moving Mountains program. Again, it's that sense of community that is so important when it comes to seeing others battle such an obscure cancer.


Leslie Russell

My name is Heather and this is my story.

It was September 2019, I remember the day like it was yesterday. My family and I were getting ready to go on a camping trip up north. My sister calls me and says she has multiple myeloma. This news was the most shocking thing I’ve ever heard. I thought this couldn’t be. My sister is the healthiest person I know, and cancer doesn’t run in our family. I was in denial. It took me time to come to terms with an illness that I knew nothing about. All I knew in that moment was that I would be there for her and her family no matter what. When my sister asked me to be a part of this program, of course I was excited and ready for the adventure with her. She is the most important person in my life and would do anything for her! So I do this for her and everyone affected by this illness.


Heather Hopp

I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2016 at 48 years of age. In the years since, I have undertaken two autologous stem cell transplants in 2016 and a salvage transplant in 2019. Unfortunately neither lasted as long as we would have hoped. From initial treatment to today I have benefited greatly from various pharmaceuticals, the majority developed relatively recently. My fight, like many others, against MM is, and will be, very much dependent on the continued research and development of additional pharmaceuticals and treatments (CAR-T and BiTE) that the The MMRF and researchers are so very focused on today. The progress is exciting, and we depend on it.

I have been a supporter of The MMRF since my initial diagnosis. The more I have learned of its wide ranging work in seeking new treatments and ultimately a cure for MM the more I support its mission. Also, the work Kathy Giusti and The MMRF do in bringing together other non-profits to learn from each other is outstanding. I learned of MM4MM through this association and was compelled to join to test myself physically and to continue to raise awareness of MM.

I am very excited to be a part of this team hiking in the Colorado Rockies – it will be a physical test given the altitude but a great chance to unplug and enjoy nature and meet new people with their own stories and connections to MM.

John Wayland

Hometown: Eagan, Minnesota

I am currently a co-director of the clinical genomics laboratory at the Mayo Clinic, where I serve as a clinical cytogeneticist and molecular geneticist focusing on hematologic malignancies such as multiple myeloma. I am passionate about finding a cure for myeloma through translational research efforts and I am motivated to improve diagnostic testing approaches for patients with myeloma through assay development. I am grateful for my role as a laboratory geneticist, and I strive to support the patients and health care team in the best way possible.
I am familiar with the amazing tools that the MMRF has available to researchers focusing on multiple myeloma, including access to genomics and clinical data. I learned about the Moving Mountains for Multiple Myeloma from the MMRF website and read about the impressive activities coordinated by MM4MM in order to raise funds and awareness about myeloma. I signed up to be part of the Colorado Team so that I could directly raise funds to support the MMRF, challenge myself physically and mentally by participating in the Colorado Hike and most importantly, meet other individuals who have been touched by myeloma. As a laboratory geneticist, I do not directly interact with myeloma patients, even though the patients are always on my mind. Being part of this team is important to me since it will give me the opportunity to meet other individuals including myeloma patients and their caregivers. I am most looking forward to this connection, which will give me even greater meaning, understanding and passion to my role as a laboratory geneticist.


Colorado2022

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