Contra Costa Times Article

4/17/2007

Triathlete succumbs to cancer-related disease

CONCORD: Wife and mother of two battled leukemia before bone marrow transplant brought on fatal illness.
By Ryan Huff

Brenda Donato, a Concord woman who battled leukemia and then months later finished a marathon and triathlon, died Saturday night at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek from complications of a bone marrow transplant. She was 36.

Donato developed acute myeloid leukemia in 2005 and was in remission at the time she finished the Wildflower Triathlon in May. For the race, she joined Team in Training, a group of athletes that competes while raising research money for leukemia and other blood cancers.

But her leukemia returned two months after the triathlon, sending her back to the hospital for a fourth round of chemotherapy.

Donato received new bone marrow last summer but contracted chronic graft-versus-host disease, allowing the donor's immune cells to attack her healthy tissue.

She kept a positive attitude throughout her fight and inspired others along the way. In her final MySpace blog entry last week, she wrote about how leukemia changed her life.

"Not only would it instantly humble me and make me feel invincible, it would subtract years from my life, scare friends away, add new compassionate ones into my life and inspire and motivate new people like no other," she wrote.

More than 100 of Donato's friends and relatives attended a fundraiser in Brentwood earlier this month to help pay her medical bills and make donations to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Her friends set up a webcam so she could interact with attendees from her hospital bedside.

In her final blog, Donato said she had no regrets about her life and knew her purpose.

"I always knew in my life that I was here for a reason. My reason was always to help others."

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

EPITAPH
Brenda Donato
BORN: July 6, 1970
DIED: April 14, 2007

SURVIVORS: Husband, Jim; sons, Trevor, 10, and Jarrett, 7; brother Brad Newlan; parents Linda Glogowski and Verdell Newlan; grandmother Mary Laschuk.

SERVICES: A celebration of Donato's life will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at Heather Farm Park, 1540 Marchbanks Drive, Walnut Creek.

CONTRIBUTIONS: In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Brenda Donato Foundation, 21001 San Ramon Valley Blvd., Suite A4, P.O. Box 177, San Ramon, CA 94583