UNC Lineberger’s Sascha Tuchman, MD, MHS, and Dell Strayhorn, MPH, FNP-C, along with Tuchman’s son, Ezra, a 16-year-old high school student, will be trekking across Greenland, July 17-23, to raise money for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and awareness about multiple myeloma, the second most common form of blood cancer.
The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 34,000 people will be diagnosed with multiple myeloma in the United States this year, and an estimated 12,600 will die from the disease. There have been a number of new treatments developed during the past two decades, but none are curative.
“Multiple myeloma has become increasingly treatable and patients are living longer than ever before, but it remains incurable and most patients eventually die from myeloma,” said Tuchman, who is the director of the UNC Multiple Myeloma and Amyloidosis Program. “The work that Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation does is vital. They advocate for and educate patients, and they fund the groundbreaking research that will eventually find the cure for myeloma.”
Tuchman and Strayhorn formed Tarheels Trekking for TreatMMents to support the MMRF by raising awareness and funds for research that may lead to a cure for multiple myeloma.
“I joined the UNC Multiple Myeloma and Amyloidosis Program as a nurse practitioner in 2015, and I’ve developed so many meaningful relationships throughout this time, and eagerly await a cure for multiple myeloma,” Strayhorn said. “I’m participating in the Greenland trek to play a part in getting us closer to that goal.”
MMRF is the largest nonprofit in the world focused on accelerating the cure for multiple myeloma. Founded in 1998, the organization has collected thousands of samples and tissues, opened nearly 100 trials, helped bring 13 FDA-approved therapies to market, and built CoMMpass, the single largest genomic dataset for any cancer. MMRF also provides a wide range of resources for people living with multiple myeloma.