Brenda in the News

This time the article is not about her recovering from transplant and going on to finish a marathon and a triathlon. This time it's about Brenda fighting very hard for her life. She has a sever case of graft vs host disease and this time the fight has become much harder.

Contra Costa Times Top Headlines
Posted on Sat, Mar. 24, 2007
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Triathlete beating cancer fights a new disease

CONCORD: Brenda Donato struggling to overcome complications from bone marrow transplant

By Ryan Huff

CONTRA COSTA TIMES

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Brenda Donato has conquered many obstacles in her 36 years, including a marathon and triathlon. And after four rounds of chemotherapy, she's in remission from acute myeloid leukemia.

But time is running out to overcome her greatest challenge.

The Concord woman is fighting chronic graft-versus-host disease, a bone marrow transplant complication in which the donor's immune cells attack the patient's healthy tissue.

Doctors have told Donato she perhaps has a matter of weeks to live. The disease is common with moderate side effects after transplants, but for Donato it has taken a rare turn and damaged more than 80 percent of her lungs.

She's barely able to speak.

But she still finds ways to express herself through blogging. In a recent online posting, Donato wrote that she's waiting for a miracle to happen.

"This is real. This is happening," she said. "It's not exaggerated or embellished and yet I still think I can heal. In complete denial, absolutely."

Even against these odds, the mother of two young boys keeps her positive attitude.

"I know I can do this. I don't feel like death is close, even though it is thrown to my face daily and hourly."

Donato was in supreme shape just 10 months ago.

She had completed three months of chemotherapy and her cancer was in remission. Donato joined Team In Training, a group of athletes that competes in active sports while raising research money for leukemia and other blood cancers.

In May, Donato competed in the Wildflower Triathlon in Monterey County, finishing the one-mile swim, 25-mile bike ride and six-mile run in less than four hours.

A week after the race, she told the Times that mastering the course gave her hope she would overcome cancer too.

"Crossing the finish line of a triathlon is a major accomplishment," she told the Times for a profile story. "If I can do that, I can beat this too."

And she has come close to doing so.

After the leukemia returned last summer, Donato found a bone marrow donor, allowing her body to fight off the cancer. But the new bone marrow wasn't a perfect match -- the cells attacked Donato's tissue as if they were battling an infection.

Although the cancer disappeared, another disease emerged.

Still, Donato manages to keep a confident attitude even as she battles chronic graft-versus-host disease, her friends said.

"Through all this she has been so inspiring and encouraging," said friend Heather McCullough. "Her positive outlook is there for her children (Trevor, 10, and Jarrett, 7). As a mother you want to be there for your husband and children."

McCullough is helping to organize an April 5 fundraiser that benefits Donato's medical bills and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The donations are already beginning: The Nines restaurant in Brentwood is hosting the event for free.

Donato's family hopes, if nothing else, more people will learn about leukemia and perhaps donate money toward research.

"Brenda wants people to be aware," said her sister-in-law, Aimee-Lynn Newlan. "All she wants people to do is sign up for the donor registry, give blood and go work out. If this helps any other family, we'll be happy."

Reach Ryan Huff at 925-977-8471 or rhuff@cctimes.com.

IF YOU GO

Brenda Donato's friends and family invite the public to an April 5 benefit to raise funds for her medical bills and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The event, which includes a silent auction, raffle and poker tournament, starts at 6 p.m. at the Nines restaurant, 100 Summerset Drive, Brentwood. For more information, call Heather McCullough at 925-765-3916. To send a donation, make checks payable to Brenda Donato and mail it to the Brenda Donato Foundation, 21001 San Ramon Valley Blvd., Suite A4, P.O. Box 177, San Ramon, CA 94583.