About Us
What can we say. Chad lit up our lives and we miss him each day. He was a son, brother, uncle, and a good friend to many. We are Chad's family and we created the Chad's $1 Million for Myeloma campaign to honour his wish to have his life make a difference for other blood cancer patients.
A message from Chad's sisterMy family has been deeply affected by multiple myeloma: first my brother, Chad, then our Mom, Sandy, was diagnosed with the disease. Like most people, we had never heard of myeloma. Chad wanted to change that lack of public awareness by sharing his story. He also wanted to raise $1 million for research into preventing, treating, and curing blood cancers such as multiple myeloma, leukemia and lymphoma.
My family is proud to support Chad's cause: the Hematology Research Program (formerly the Hematolgy Research and Clinical Trials Unit) through the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation. Both Chad and Mom have been treated at the HRP, and we have seen how the doctors and researchers there are continually improving treatments for blood cancer patients. My mom, Sandy, was one of the first multiple myeloma patients in British Columbia to receive Revlamid in a clinical trial at the HRP, and it saved her life and kept myeloma at bay for nine years. But each patient is different. What worked for Mom, didn't work for Chad. And no myeloma treatment lasts. After over 20 years of evolving treatments and remissions, the treatments stopped working, and Sandy passed away in October of 2022 - one of her doctor's longest surviving patients. The HRP's work benefits all blood cancer patients in British Columbia as clinical trials find new protocols that are implemented throughout the health care system, and its research helps patients around the world. The HRP is funded almost entirely by donations, so Chad wanted to raise enough money to give stable funding to ensure it could continue its work for several years. We hope you will consider adding your support. Warm regards, Jennifer Warren |
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