13th annual Winnipeg Multiple Myeloma March

Participants in the 13th annual Winnipeg Multiple Myeloma March hit the pavement Sunday to raise money to find a cure for the rare form of cancer.

Six-time co-organizer Jackey LaBossière says she does it for her brother.

“My brother Ron inspired me to stay courageous, positive, have a sense of humor and to plug on,” she said. “Jackey’s cheerleaders, which is my team, we’re dedicating the walk to my brother Ron.

“Not only do I have myeloma, living with it for seven years, but my older brother Ron, who lived in Calgary, was diagnosed with myeloma a year almost to the day before me. Unfortunately, he died Dec. 4, 2022.”

LaBossière was 64 when she found out she had myeloma. Her brother Ron found out he had the incurable disease when he was 68.

LaBossière says while she has experienced highs and lows, and knows she will be on medication for the rest of her life, she still considers herself to be one of the lucky ones, able to continue living with the disease.

“The shock of my brother in 2015 being diagnosed when nobody in the family had heard about it, we followed his journey, a very difficult one,” she recalled. “Then for me to be diagnosed a year later, in a way, it was a blessing that he had gone through it because I knew what to expect more or less.”

Myeloma is a cancer where plasma cells, a type of white blood cell made in the bone marrow which produces antibodies, multiply excessively and interfere with other healthy blood cells.

Myeloma can cause bone pain and loss, anemia, fever, infections, and blood clots.

A goal of $50,000 was set for Sunday’s walk, with already $30,000 believed to be raised.

“My family, my friends and my supporters, I couldn’t do this without any of them. It feels like we are one big family,” said Debbie Wakeman, who was diagnosed with myeloma in November 2021.

LaBossière says the ability to bring together survivors and supporters to help in the fight for a cure brings her joy.

“With myeloma, there’s all the physical components of the cancer,” she said. “But really and truly, the hardest is the emotional ups and downs. When you’re living with an incurable cancer, the anxiety level is always there, but you learn to be grateful for every day. Having a sense of humor really helps and staying positive.”

“Every day I get a chance to talk with patients and their families at community events like the march to know about their struggle, to know what is wrong, what went well with them, especially with treatment and research,” added Patricia Célestin, the National community fundraising lead at Myeloma Canada.