Saskatoon blood cancer survivor aims for cure by hosting fundraiser and walk
A Saskatoon woman with an incurable blood cancer, myeloma, is hoping to raise awareness and money to help find a cure.
Marie Prokopiw is a retired nurse and was diagnosed with myeloma 10 years ago after getting blood work due to several symptoms she was experiencing.
Multiple myeloma is a type of blood cancer that forms in a type of white cell, called a plasma cell, found in bone marrow.
“And so of course I went through all the usual symptoms of ‘why on earth did this happen to me,’” Prokopiw told CTV News.
In 2015 Prokopiw received a stem cell transplant and was able to recover.
The following year she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I thought we can do something about this one you know, I mean lots of people are living with having had breast cancer,” she said.
Prokopiw was able to get treatment and is in remission for both cancers.
Now, she wants to help others with myeloma and raise money and awareness to find a cure.
The Multiple Myeloma March in Saskatoon is happening on Sept. 26 at 2:30 p.m. at the Zion Lutheran Church.
Prokopiw is hoping to raise more than $20,000. Those who want to social distance or can’t attend are encouraged to walk in their own neighbourhood to show their support.
“Even (if) the doctors became more aware of what multiple myeloma is as well as people, then it would be more easily diagnosed and people wouldn’t have to suffer as long,” Prokopiw said.
80 SASK. CASES A YEAR
Dr. Julie Stakiw, an oncologist at the Saskatoon Cancer Centre, says there are 80 new cases of myeloma a year in Saskatchewan.
Stakiw says while mammograms and CT scans can diagnose other cancers, there isn’t an official screening process for myeloma.
“And so it usually ends up being a disease that’s usually diagnosed when people have symptoms, and by the time they have symptoms from multiple myeloma the symptoms can cause a lot of organ damage,” Stakiew told CTV News.
Stakiew says blood cancer often doesn’t get as much attention as breast or lung cancer, another reason why people may not have heard of it.
Fatigue, bone pain and lower back pain are some symptoms that people with myeloma might experience.
“The more awareness that we have, the more that maybe people are willing to contribute to the research and work towards finding a cure.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.