BY LIZZY SMITH It’s been several week since I’ve learned of the Mambo for Myeloma Dance Challenge. It’s a concept similar to the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS, but this one involves a dance or fun routine for multiple myeloma, the second most common blood cancer. As a myeloma survivor and advocate, I knew that I had to participate. What took me so long? Well, I’ve been busy and … Truth is, doing the Mambo for Myeloma takes almost no time, is fun, and it’s important! So two nights ago, I did it! I filmed my nine year old daughter, Siena, doing the Mambo for Myeloma. She is a total ham and loves this kind of stuff. Here’s how we did it.

1. I asked Siena to make a sign. It took her a few minutes and she had fun with it.
2. I picked a song. I chose Destiny Child’s Survivor and asked my Dad to play it on his fabulous speaker.
3. I snapped a photo of Siena with my phone holding up her sign so I’d have a visual to share.
4. I played the song and told Siena to start dancing while I filmed (you can do this with your phone, to make this extra easy). She could have gone on forever but I cut her off after a few seconds. As you will see, I’m no expert videographer and Siena and I didn’t spend a whole lot of time practicing. That’s the point—the Mambo for Myeloma challenge should be simple and fun. It doesn’t even need to be a dance—it can be a hoola, or trampoline silliness or a run, or… a song, jig… whatever. A sign is necessary so the viewer knows what the heck you are doing, but everything else is up to you. Grab a soccer team, your tennis buddy, the book club… whomever, and film, share, and enjoy.
5. I went to my Youtube channel and uploaded my video. If you don’t have Youtube, signing up for an account is beyond simple. All you need to do is go to www.youtube.com and sign up. Make sure you have an email address first, that’s all you need. It’s FREE and extremely simple—even my technologically-challenged 73 year old mom did it on the first try! Once you sign up, there’s a big prominent button that says “upload video.” Click on it and follow the instructions. When it asks for a description, somewhere in there make sure you add the words “Mambo for Myeloma.” Then publish and share! You can copy that link on your Facebook page, email it to your friends and family, or blog it. If you ask me, Facebook is the best place for it. And please post a link to the Facebook page called Mambo for Myeloma Dance Challenge Starts Here!, that way we can all marvel at your new video.

After you’ve done your dance challenge and made it public, keep it going by asking your friends, family, co-workers, church group, or other, to do the same. Keep it going all year long. Help us raise awareness for multiple myeloma. Here are a few Mambo for Myeloma Dances to get your creative juices flowing.