Mission Moment Monday: Donna's Story

Brittany Pitlik with her beautiful nana, Donna

Donna Pitlik was what you think of when you hear the term "medical miracle". At 45 years old she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy. When she hit the famous 5-year mark, the one so many breast cancer survivors long for, Donna discovered she had leukemia.

Unrelated to her original cancer, Donna's newest cancer diagnosis was a rare and interesting case. She received her treatments at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center where she participated in various drug trials, none of which had been approved by the FDA yet. Her success helped bring leukemia treatments closer to where they are today.

One of the drug trials Donna participated in was imatinib (Gleevec®) which has now dramatically improved survival rates for chronic leukemia patients.

"To know her was to love her," said Brittany Pitlik, her granddaughter. Brittany is training to participate in her very first full marathon with TNT, the BMO Vancouver Marathon on May 3. About her precious grandmother, Brittany says, "She was love and compassion and loyalty and determination and courage and attitude."

Donna was one of our Texas Gulf Coast TNT honored teammates in the late 1990's and even travelled with the Team to the Anchorage Marathon. Her teammates, her doctors, her friends and her family marvelled at her incredible strength and watched as she defied the great odds against her to live 259 months longer than she was supposed to live.

In 1993 when she was first diagnosed with cancer, doctors told her that she would survive only three months. After fighting breast cancer and leukemia, she continued living a strong, active life until March 29, 2014. The vast treatments Donna endured for many years which extended her life, ultimately caused brain atrophy in her cerebellum. But when she took her final breath, she left this life a champion, one who is greatly missed by all her knew her.

To honor this amazing lady, her granddaughter Brittany decided to tackle 26.2 miles and bravely run through the streets of Vancouver in honor of Donna. Because her "Nana" survived 259 months after her cancer diagnosis, Brittany is hoping to receive 259 donations of $100 each for a total of $25,900 in memory of Donna.

This is a big goal, but Brittany is taking on Donna's spirit of determination to conquer her goal. If you would like to help this young lady honor her Nana's memory, you may donate HERE.

Donna with Brittany, her first grandchild