Name: Nick and Krysta

Age: 25 (Nick), 23 (Krysta)

Hometown: Cambridge, MA

Link: support.themmrf.org/goto/nick_krysta

Reason for climbing: As young health care professionals, we are constantly reminded of the challenges our patients face, whether it be the initial diagnosis, the various therapeutic options they must consider, or the numerous lifestyle changes they have to make. We both strive to contribute in every way possible so that others may benefit from research and practice as a result of organizations such as the MMRF. It is the constant fight that patients go through that drives us, the caregiver’s selflessness that reminds us to remain humble, and the researchers that are inching closer to a cure that inspire us. Multiple myeloma struck Nick’s mother’s close friend in 2013 and she soon-after passed from the disease. We will be hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro in her memory and for all of the patients currently battling multiple myeloma.

My story: Nick and Krysta met each other while students at MCPHS University in Boston, MA, where both were very involved with the school’s orientation program and various student organizations. Nick, now working at Takeda as a Postdoctoral Pharmacy Fellow in Pharmacovigilance, has had the opportunity to see the MMRF’s impact on not only patient’s lives but also driving current research. Krysta, a dental hygienist in Wellesley, MA, is able to educate her patients on their health, nutrition, and oral hygiene. She recognizes the importance of this interaction when it comes to her patients that have multiple myeloma. They were both able to complete the Spartan race with Takeda and the MMRF in Fenway Park this last November with 50+ teammates. Just as with the Spartan race, there are going to be many obstacles to conquer with Mt. Kilimanjaro. With each step we take towards the Uhuru peak, we are confident that we are only simulating the steps being taken towards a cure and a fraction of the challenge patients face as they battle this disease. We are extremely humbled by the opportunity to trek up this mountain alongside true multiple myeloma heroes and as members of the MMRF Team for Cures!