Honoree: Louis Lai

Hi Everyone. I know I have spent a lot of time talking about myself and my training for the half marathon, so I wanted to take the time to introduce you to the people I am running for. My teams honorees. So to start things off, I would like to introduce you to Louis who is currently training with the team for the Avenue of the Giants Half and San Diego Full Marathon and let him tell you his story...

Diagnosis: Multiple Myeloma in August of 2004

Team in training does a tremendous job raising funds for research to find new cures for blood cancers. I would not be here today without the new treatments developed for Multiple Myeloma in the past 5 years.

I will be training with the team for the Avenue of the Giants Half Marathon or the Rock’n’Roll Marathon in San Diego.

I decided to become an honoree because it’s another chance to give back to the community that has helped me through my cancer ordeal, as well as give hope to cancer survivors currently in treatment.

I am motivated by my wife and my son. The opportunity to learn and experience new things, to enjoy and appreciate the people in my life, to be a positive influence people’s lives. It’s not often you get a 2^nd chance at life.

I love all types of food – Italian, Chinese, French, Japanese, Thai, Korean, Mexican… anything except hospital food. My favorite movie is “Old School.” With my free time, I like to sleep, play sports, watch movies, attend sporting events, go to museums, travel… most of all spend time with friends and family. If I could do anything in the world, I would travel around the world.

I was diagnosed in 2004 with Multiple Myeloma and after years of treatment (3 therapies, 2 of which were clinical trials, and 2 stem cell transplants) I achieved a complete remission.

I started my 1st treatment, a clinical trail for Velcade, 1 week after my diagnosis at the Alta Bates Cancer Center. After 5 cycles of Velcade, with limited response, my doctor took me off the treatment because I was suffering from severe neuropathy (numbness and pain in my legs and feet). I could not walk or stand without severe pain and had difficulty sleeping. After a brief break to recover from the neuropathy, I started my 2nd treatment, Thalidomide. After several cycles of Thalidomide, and having reached a partial remission, we decided to go ahead with a stem cell transplant in April 2005. I was the 500th bone marrow/stem cell transplant patient at Alta Bates Hospital. Although the procedure and recovery went much better than expected, the results did not last. 3 months post transplant, my Myeloma indicators started to rise and we knew I would have to undergo additional treatment. I started my 3rd treatment, a clinical trial for Revlimid, soon after. After several cycles of Revlimid, I had a complete response and discussed having a second stem cell transplant to consolidate and prolong my remission. In May 2006, I had my 2nd stem cell transplant at Alta Bates. Thankfully, the second transplant went as smoothly as the first.

I am one of the lucky survivors. There are so many other cancer patients who deserve to have the same result that I have. I would not be here today without the continued research into new treatments and cures for blood cancers.

** Latest update from Louis: 8 weeks into training and I continue to be inspired by the effort and dedication of everyone on the team. The Emerald 12k was amazing, especially seeing everyone from our team running strong from start to finish. I have thoroughly enjoyed training with and getting to know my teammates and can't wait to run the Avenue of the Giants.