Abonour — an oncologist and researcher with the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center — will again undertake Miles for Myeloma, traveling 207 miles by bike from Evansville to Indianapolis.
Dubbed Trek for Treatment, this year’s Miles for Myeloma begins at 7 a.m. Friday, Oct. 2 in Evansville with Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel present for a special send-off.
From Evansville, Dr. Abonour will bike to Bedford, Ind. At 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, he will leave Bedford and head to Indianapolis. A finish-line celebration is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. in front of the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Campus Center, 420 University Blvd. All are invited.
From 2005 to 2008, Dr. Abonour – an avid amateur marathon runner – put his body to the test by both running and biking on consecutive days to raise money for his research devoted to finding a cure for multiple myeloma. This year, the distance is by far the most he has ridden for Miles for Myeloma.
Dr. Abonour, who is an associate professor of medicine and an associate dean for research at the Indiana University School of Medicine, said he plans to continue his annual Miles for Myeloma event “as long as there are people fighting myeloma. Any way that I can raise awareness about the disease and funds to fight it, I think is a good idea, although my body doesn’t always think so,” he added with a smile.
To date, Dr. Abonour has biked or run nearly 700 miles across Indiana and raised $1 million for multiple myeloma research. All of the funds are used for research at the IU Simon Cancer Center.
A person with myeloma, according to Dr. Abonour, is typically in their 60s. The cancer, which Dr. Abonour said will strike about 19,000 people this year, accumulates in bone marrow, weakening the bones and causing osteoporosis, anemia and kidney failure. Myeloma also leaves people susceptible to infections because their immune system has been weakened.
Currently, Dr. Abonour and his colleagues are investigating a new drug, ENMD- 2076, which they have shown has killed myeloma cells. They are conducting a phase I trial with multiple myeloma patients to determine the toxicity and safe dosage of the drug.
“To succeed in finding a cure for myeloma, it’s going to take time. And obviously, that’s not good enough,” Dr. Abonour said.