Climbing For A Cure: Mult. Myeloma

Please show your support as Grant, Erik, and Natalie climb to the summit of Cotopaxi Volcano in an effort to raise money and awareness for multiple myeloma, a currently incurable blood cancer. All donations will benefit the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, which has already worked to create 6 new drugs over the past 10 years and helped double the lifespan of myeloma patients.

Hey everyone!

Our names are Grant Norstrom, Erik Norstrom, and Natalie Bick and we’re college students from Michigan. At 12:00 a.m. on January 4th, we will leave our base camp in Ecuador to summit Cotopaxi Volcano. Reaching a height of 5,897 meters (that’s 19,347 feet), Cotopaxi is considered the third highest active volcano in the world! So far, the highest any of us has ever climbed is 1,100 meters, which is roughly a sixth of the height of Cotopaxi. What does that mean? Well, that means the next eight hours of climbing the steep mountainside, crossing the crevasses, and passing the hanging seracs will likely be some of the most challenging hours of our lives.

But sometimes all it takes is a little bit of perspective to see how small even your biggest obstacles are compared to what others face on a daily basis.

In the spring of 2014, our (Erik and Grant's) beautiful Mom was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a currently incurable blood cancer. As she has begun her journey receiving treatment, our Mom has inspired those around her and proven that multiple myeloma patients around the world are ready to fight and defeat this cancer — all they need are the tools to do so.
Just as we will have an expert mountaineering guide to assist us every step along the way to the summit of Cotopaxi, multiple myeloma patients have a team of brilliant doctors behind them that are doing extraordinary things to make their treatment possible. However, while we will have ropes, crampons, and ice axes to make it to the summit, multiple myeloma patients and their doctors do not have the necessary tools to truly cure this cancer.

Thankfully there are organizations such as the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation that are working relentlessly to make such vitally important tools a reality for the estimated 24,000 patients diagnosed with the cancer in the U.S. each year. The MMRF designates 90% of its budget to cancer research, which has resulted in 6 new drugs over the past 10 years and helped double the lifespan of myeloma patients. In fact, the clinical trial our mom is participating in offers a new, promising drug that the MMRF fast-tracked to the clinical trial phase.
It’s easy to see that the daily challenges faced by MM patients and the MMRF are far greater than the challenge we will face on January 4th. And so, we want our challenge in Ecuador to become a part of their solution. And we need your help to do that.

By summiting Cotopaxi Volcano we are aiming to do two things:

First, we hope to raise awareness for multiple myeloma patients and families around the world. Their incredibly brave battles with this cancer inspire us to live a better life and appreciate each day we are blessed with.

Second, we are aiming to raise $1,000 for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. That equates to $125 for each of the 8 hours we will spend climbing from base camp to the summit of Cotopaxi. Donations to this incredibly successful research foundation are truly saving lives and we ask you to please be a part of that success. We believe no donation of yours is too small and that, with your support, increasingly effective treatment options and eventually a cure for multiple myeloma are in our future.

Please note that none of the money raised will be used to fund our climb or our mother’s individual fight with multiple myeloma. All donations will be a direct payment to the MMRF via gofundme.com and will go towards the continuation of developing new drugs and treatments in the hopes of finding a cure.

Whether it is a monetary donation or simply spreading awareness about multiple myeloma, we greatly appreciate your support!

For more information about the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and to learn more about this cancer and the incredible advancements they have made in treating it, please visit: www.themmrf.org/

Sincerely,

Grant, Erik, and Natalie