Tag: South Carolina

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Myeloma Stories

Bunny Z. – Pawley’s Island, SC

I was feeling tired and after a drastic drop in my hemoglobin, I went to see an oncologist /hematologist who did a bone marrow biopsy. That was in June of 2014. The diagnosis was Multiple Myeloma and I began chemo treatment immediately.

In August I had a consultation at the Myeloma Institute at UAMS in Little Rock, AR. Within two weeks we were back for aggressive chemo and a stem cell transplant. I was discharged on October 25th and have been on maintenance doses of dexamethasone, Zometa,and Velcade and am in remission today.

Other than wearing wigs until my hair grows back I feel absolutely normal! Resumed my real estate career and after a few months of physical therapy, felt strong again. Don’t be discouraged or lose hope, great strides have been made in research for Multiple Myeloma; the cure may appear any day but we can be comfortable until that happens.

– Bunny

Categories
Myeloma Stories

Susan M. – Columbia, SC.

Suffering from back problems for years, I never dreamed that at the age of 42 I would be diagnosed with cancer. I was pretty healthy, though had become used to the fatigue that accompanies anemia. My back problems were not muscular but a vertebra that was fractured and collapsing. I figured that if I didn’t present with leukemia symptoms like my father, who passed away at the age of 45, I was in the clear after having been exposed to radiation in a small town in Colorado at the age of 4. Nope! My cells took on a different mutation and I had probably been living with MM for years while the tumors were eating away at my spine and other areas. With a grateful heart for a family member who is a doctor and who found a recommendation for a wonderful oncologist, I was started on an induction therapy of Velcade, Thalidomide, and Dex. I also went through two vertebral kyphoplasty surgeries to halfway repair what was left of one vertebra and repair one I broke two weeks after my first surgery. After 4 rounds of VTD, my numbers were awesome, and I have remained in that state and on a maintenance drug of Revlimid ever since (almost 7 years!). I am tested every 3 months to monitor and make sure I do not relapse. I don’t know what the future holds, but I am very thankful for my response thus far!

– Susan

Categories
Myeloma Stories

Susan M. – Columbia, SC

I was way too young to be diagnosed with an “older man’s cancer.” At 42, I was generally healthy and active, but I had been experiencing back pain on and off for many years. Always thinking it was muscular, I ignored it and took muscle relaxers. When it got so bad I couldn’t move after an 11-hour trip to my brother’s wedding in December 2007, my sister, who is a radiologist, ordered me to get an MRI, which revealed tumors throughout my spine. Subsequent x-rays and scans revealed tumors pretty much everywhere.

I had vertebral kyphoplasty #1 in February 2008 to attempt to repair the first broken vertebra, then kypho #2 a couple weeks later to repair the one I broke not long after the first surgery. Two rounds of a cocktail of Velcade, Thalidomide, and Dex got me to a complete response. Since then, I have been on Revlimid for maintenance.

I lost my father at the age of 45 to leukemia. We were unknowingly exposed to radiation in Colorado when I was a little girl. My father died 30 years ago without the aid of a bone marrow registry or the drugs that have come from incredible research in blood cancers in the last several years.

I am truly grateful for organizations like IMF, who are there for the patients, provide any and all help they can, and are a critical presence in educating us about cutting edge research in multiple myeloma.

— Susan M.