Local philanthropist Patrice Fletcher will soon be completing her 16th marathon event back-to-back within two years with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training program when she takes part in the 2015 Space Coast Marathon on Nov. 29. Meanwhile, she is issuing a challenge to other runners in the Palm Beach area.
Fletcher, a participant of Team In Training since 2010, will face the physical challenge of running 13.1 miles on Nov 29 as the final event in her 16-race streak, all with the goal of helping advance cancer treatments and find a cure.
Her hope is that by raising the money for these events, it will help LLS in its mission to find a cure for blood cancers and give patients a better quality of life. Today, thanks in part to the research conducted by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, six drugs have been approved for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia.
Fletcher had no direct connection to the cause, she just wanted to do something to give back. In November of 2011, that changed when her husband, Rick, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, just 15 months after she became involved with the cause.
“We were blindsided when we initially learned of the seriousness of his cancer,” Fletcher said.
Rick’s treatment included an 8-hour surgery to remove a tumor that was growing on his spine, a month of radiation, five months of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, before his oncologist reported that he was in remission. Rick is currently on a chemo maintenance pill, Revlimid, a drug made available through the research done by the LLS.
As if her challenge isn’t impressive enough, Fletcher is not your typical athlete. She will be turning 57 this month and will have raised more than $30,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Fletcher is challenging other individuals in the Palm Beach area to meet or beat that number and join her in the fight to help defeat blood cancers. For more information, visit www.teamintraining.org/pb/patrice and either join her for her 16th event or donate to help her reach her goal.
Team In Training (TNT) is designed to train individuals from the novice to the expert athlete to complete endurance sports events, such as marathons, century rides and triathlons, in return for their fundraising efforts to further the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life for patients and their families.
For more information, visit www.teamintraining.org or call (800) 399-7312.
ABOVE: Patrice Fletcher with her husband, Rick.
