Posted Wednesday, March 4, 2020 2:05 pm

At this year’s Big Climb fundraiser in Seattle, a team from Blaine will scale the Columbia Center skyscraper in order to raise awareness about the importance of leukemia and lymphoma research.

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Big Climb 2020 was originally scheduled to take place Sunday, March 22, but has since been postponed. This year’s participants will once again include Larissa’s Crew, a fundraising team from Blaine. The team’s members include Dr. Marta Kazymyra, her grandson A.J. Telles and Larissa Dhanani, who was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia in 2008.

“I started doing this to support my dear friend Larissa Dhanani, who went from an extremely healthy and fit 45-year-old to a very, very sick lady in a very short period of time,” said Dr. Kazymyra. “Due to her strength and tenacity, her brothers’ stem cells and amazing care at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and the University of Washington, she is now 10 years disease-free and living a wonderful and active life. I witnessed her terrible struggle while she was recovering and fighting for her life. It is not something you can easily forget.”

During the annual fundraiser, participants climb the stairs of the Columbia Center skyscraper in downtown Seattle. At 788 feet of vertical elevation, the Columbia Center is the tallest building in the Pacific Northwest. It takes 69 flights of stairs, or 1,311 steps, to reach the building’s observatory, which offers views of the entire Puget Sound region.

“The trip up those 69 flights of stairs is brutal, and as I get older, it doesn’t get any easier,” said Dr. Kazymyra. “Believe me, I am not like one of the youngsters that gets up there in 10 minutes. My goal is to raise lots of money and get to the top, alive and breathing, in about 23 minutes.”

This year will be Dr. Kazymyra’s eighth climb and her grandson A.J.’s fifth climb. Dr. Kazymyra hopes to raise $15,000 while A.J. hopes to raise $5,000. In 2018, the Big Climb’s participants together raised a record-breaking $3,007,080 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which invested the money in its mission to fund blood cancer research and support services for patients.

“We are very passionate about finding a cure for blood cancers, as they are so devastating and common,” said Dr. Kazymyra. “Before I retired this year, there wasn’t a single week where I didn’t see a blood-related disease. However, over these past few years, there have been so many breakthroughs and improvements in treatment. Much of this is due to the money we raise.”

Blaine residents who are interested in supporting Dr. Kazymyra or A.J. can donate directly to their fundraising webpages, which are located online at llswa.org. Alternatively, you can drop off checks made to “Leukemia and Lymphoma Society – Big Climb” at Bay Medical Clinic, 377 C Street or mail them to 9616 Harvey Road, Blaine, Washington 98230. Please specify whether your donation is for Dr. Kazymyra or A.J. Telles.