Twin sisters Marilyn and Sharon have always been very close.
"We were inseparable, always together, always had the same friends," Marilyn said.
They even had a joint wedding.
So when Marilyn was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, Sharon was devastated. It's the second most common blood cancer.
Marilyn needed a bone marrow transplant to survive.
Of course, Sharon was right by her side and despite always being told they were not identical twins, she was a perfect match.
"I just felt wonderful that I could be there to hopefully give her a cure," Sharon said.
That was 19 years ago.
The transplant put Marilyn's cancer into remission.
She's had problems since, but thanks to research and new treatments, she's here today.
And so she's helping others.
She started a support group, the Philadelphia Multiple Myeloma Networking Group.
"We started with five people around someone's kitchen table," Marilyn said.
But now her group reaches more than 300 people.
They have an annual walk and have raised more than $1-million to support research grants and financial assistance.
Marilyn and Sharon have always had each other; now with their work, they're making sure everyone who faces multiple myeloma also has someone to lean on and hopefully some day, a cure.
The 'Miles for Myeloma' walk or 5-K run takes place on April 27th along Martin Luther King Drive.
LINK: http://philadelphia.myeloma.org/miles-for-myeloma/
