When my cousin, Elena, was diagnosed with leukemia in May 2002, I desperately wanted to help her any way I could with her battle against this devastating cancer. With this in mind I gathered family and friends and founded the “Gift of Life” Committee. We worked together to overcome our feeling of helplessness and satisfy our need to support Elena with her fight against leukemia. On September 22, 2002 family, friends and the community came together as we held our first “Gift of Life 5km Walk for Leukemia” in co-operation with Princess Margaret Hospital.

Raising money to help in the fight against leukemia is one of our goals. Our other goal is to bring attention to the Unrelated Bone Marrow Registry. When chemotherapy fails to bring a patient to remission, a bone marrow transplant may be the next weapon in the fight against leukemia. We urge you to please consider registering to become a bone marrow donor. However, a match is not always found. For this reason, the donations raised at our walks will support new ways of bone marrow transplants. One option is a fellowship in The Philip Orsino Facility for Cell Therapy at Princess Margaret Hospital.

As the first institution of its kind in Ontario, and one of only a few in North America, the Philip S. Orsino Facility for Cell Therapy has the ability to take bone marrow or blood-derived stem cells donated from a healthy donor and infuse them into the patient, freeze bone marrow donor cell for up to a year or more, and prepare specialized transplants that require only partially matched children, siblings or parents as donors. A significant step forward in the treatment of leukemia and other blood-related cancers. This means that it is no longer necessary to find a “perfect donor” before a bone marrow transplant can take place. The facility is also focused on developing and improving screening, diagnostic and treatment methods as well as increasing the effectiveness while decreasing the toxicity of bone marrow transplants.

On Sunday September 25, 2005 we are holding our fourth annual “Gift of Life 5km for Leukemia” at the Kortright Centre in Woodbridge, Ontario. We invite you to be a part of our growing community and join the “Gift of Life” committee in working diligently in hopes of making a difference in the lives of those fighting leukemia. Let’s give leukemia patients the support and inspiration they need to win their battle against leukemia.

Elena Rotilio
Founder, Gift of Life 5Km Walk for Leukemia