An Austintown graduate is achieving a life-long dream by conquering the Inca trail to Machu Picchu.

Paul Bassett is training for the climb of his life.  He's going to Peru to hike up one of the world's tallest mountains, almost 14,000 feet up to Machu Picchu.

"The first five miles they told us is straight up so it's going to be an adventure so training is an important part of being ready for this trip.," says Bassett.

It's all part of an effort called Moving Mountains for Multiple Myeloma.  Myeloma is a deadly blood cancer.

"Throughout my career I've developed cancer drugs, I've worked as a nurse and have taken care of cancer patients. And this turned into a really unique opportunity to do something outside of the research realm to raise awareness and raise money for the funding that the research needs desperately," says Bassett.

The journey is personal to him. "It's a great way to honor my mom and my dad. we lost my mom in August last year and my dad is an 8-year cancer survivor."

Paul lives in Connecticut now but he's back home in the valley to see his family.  Of course his training never stops.  He plans to make his Machu Picchu trip in August.

His trip is sponsored by Takeda Oncology and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. Paul needs to raise $5,000 as part of the climb's goals. All of that money will go to blood cancer research.
Right now he's half way to that goal. If you would like to contribute, you can go to http://support.themmrf.org/goto/PaulBassett