As I write this, I clearly remember reading a letter much like this one many many times.

A letter telling a sad story about a loved one with an illness; a benefit or fundraising of sorts to raise money for a cause directly affecting the person writing the letter.

Well, last year I became one of those people. My mother was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. Recently my stepfather has been diagnosed with the same disease, so the cause has become even stronger for me personally.

April 4, 2004 I will be running in the Paris Marathon. I have already run in the Boston and New York Marathons. For those two marathons, I ran for myself. I promised myself should I have it in me to run one more marathon I would run for a cause; run for someone else; run for someone who could not run. I was not sure which cause I would run for; there are so many great causes run by great non-profit organizations.

After the pain of learning of my mother’s illness sank in, it came clear to me that I would run for Multiple Myeloma, and with my stepfather sadly being added to the equation, I am determined to run the best marathon I can and raise as much money as I can with the proceeds going to the International Myeloma Foundation.

Thank you so much.

Diane Jette

If you would like to support Diane, you can use a credit card to donate online. Just make sure you type "Paris Marathon" in the "on the occasion of" box. Or you can contact Suzanne Battaglia at the IMF by email or call her at 800-452-2873 (in the US and Canada between 9 am and 4 pm PST; from elsewhere call 818-487-7455) about sending a donation through the mail.