I have what????

I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in the fall of 2009. I didn't recall ever hearing of it before, but I did recognize the "oma" on the end of the word and decided that probably wasn't good. MM is a cancer of a kind of plasma cell that begins multiplying in the bone marrow and eventually can crowd out the red and white blood cells, damage the bones, spine and kidneys. Though there is no cure for it, there are many more options for treatment today than a decade ago. Only a few years ago, lifespan following it becoming active was only about 3 years, but that number is being extended with the new drugs and treatments available.

At diagnosis, my MM was confirmed with a bone marrow biopsy and an MRI of the skeleton and was found to be in the smoldering stage. At that point it didn't require treatment.  It was monitored every 3 months with blood and urine tests and yearly skeletal x-rays.

In the spring of 2013, tests showed that the cancer was on the move. Low hemoglobin made me anemic and fatigued, and proteins and other indicators that had been slowly changing were now rapidly changing. Time to decide on a treatment.


For more on multiple myeloma.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/myeloma

When Kathy Giusti, a young pharamceutical executive, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, the MM cause took a big step forward:

Kathy's story
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/30/jobs/for-kathryn-giusti-two-wars-against-multiple-myeloma.html?_r=0

The MMRF story:
  http://www.themmrf.org/about-the-mmrf/leadership/mmrf-founders.html