Deana Dietzler Chiusano, of Cranberry, and Deborah Dietzler show pride for their alma mater while they stand atop Japan's Mt. Fuji. The sisters climbed the mountain and raised more than $19,000 for the Moving Mountains for multiple myeloma program.

CRANBERRY TWP — Before she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, Deana Dietzler Chiusano had such extreme anemia she couldn't climb a flight of stairs or take her son in and out of his car seat.

During her initial treatments before receiving a stem cell transplant, she didn't have enough energy to walk down the street or stand for more than a few minutes.

“So to be alive and able to climb a mountain six years later is pretty awesome,” she said.

Dietzler Chiusano, of Cranberry, and her older sister Deborah Dietzler, of Athens, Ga. climbed the highest point in Japan as part of the Moving Mountains for Multiple Myeloma program to raise money for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

They completed the two-day climb with a team of other multiple myeloma patients on July 20.

The sisters' team, called BTHO MM, raised a little more than $19,000 for the foundation and came out on top in fundraising over other teams on the trip.

A full report appears in the Butler Eagle.