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March is Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month.
As I said to Erica Limlinger
I don’t deny it. I know that multiple myeloma is serious and what I need to do. But choosing a hopeful mindset helps me move forward.
My cancer journey started when I visited my general practitioner thinking I might have a food allergy. The blood tests and tests she ordered that day were inconclusive about my stomach issues, but getting a blood panel may have saved my life.
Most of the blood test results looked good, except for one reading that was significantly outside the normal range. I asked my doctor about it and she didn’t seem concerned. Trusting her, I pushed for more blood tests to investigate further.
While researching online, I found that there wasn’t much reason for a blood panel to show a high value. This was mostly unique to multiple myeloma, a blood cancer with no known cure.
I don’t tend to panic. As a mother of three older boys, I know that life presents surprises, but I have always maintained an even mind.
If you read about multiple myeloma online, you will notice that the average survival rate is 3 to 5 years. I immediately made an appointment with a multiple myeloma specialist because it’s not in my nature to let fear outpace information.
At that first visit, I received an official diagnosis and my first hope: high-risk, deferred multiple myeloma. “Ignition” means that the cancer has not yet damaged bones and organs, even though it was present in the plasma cells. We caught it early. “High risk” means there is a very high chance that the disease will progress within two years without treatment.
I began a four-month course of chemotherapy, a mixture of infusions and medications. Fortunately, the treatment was well tolerated with minimal side effects.
When I broke the news of cancer to my family and friends, I advised them not to search on the Internet. Even doctors agree that online information lags far behind new and emerging treatment options. With so many new treatments for multiple myeloma and so many options to choose from, I wanted my loved ones to focus on hope instead of fear and outdated statistics.
At the time, we were still living in the long shadow of COVID-19, so we had to be especially careful about going out because our immunity was weakened. These precautions are very important during the next step in the treatment plan: stem cell transplantation. Although I feared a transplant that would require a long hospital stay, I desperately hoped I would get through it and get on with the more important things about living my life.
I spent two weeks in the hospital. I underwent high dose chemotherapy which removed the existing bone marrow and took my entire immune system with it. All childhood vaccines are gone. (I’ve had repeated childhood vaccinations for the past two years – polio, measles, hepatitis, etc. I’m not done yet!)
Once the myeloma cells in my blood were destroyed, they put my stem cells (previously treated, collected and frozen through a procedure called apheresis) back into my blood in the hope that they would regenerate without cancer.
2023
During the few weeks I spent in the transplant room, I lost 18 pounds in 20 days and lost all my hair. I didn’t read books or watch TV. I slept for 14 days. Seven days after transplant, white blood cell counts reached their lowest point and then began to rise. Once your white blood cell count reaches a safe level, you will be allowed to leave the hospital.
My husband Mitch and my family and friends have been incredibly supportive through it all. Mitch took on all the heavy lifting of running our family and supporting me. I came home with so much love, my dog went absolutely berserk with joy to see me.
2023
Thanks to the incredible support of my family and friends, I was able to focus on healing. Loved ones bringing meals, surprise gifts at the door, non-stop check-ins, shaving our heads together, sleepovers – all of this made me feel very loved and supported and cleared my head for positive movement.
I’ve now had five months off from treatment while I recover, but it wasn’t a vacation. For the first three weeks, I was lying on the couch, unable to move and barely eating. A week after returning home, I was so tired that I decided to get up and move. I couldn’t resist or control my food, but I found some Swedish fish in the kitchen and ate some. Candy gave me enough energy to move around the house, the drive I needed to eat, walk, work, and live again.
Kearney with her husband and three sons, 6 weeks after stem cell transplant, 2023
The next step in my treatment trial was more infusions, which I once again tolerated well and eventually achieved a “complete response.” This meant there was no evidence of cancer in my body. For multiple myeloma, many doctors do not use the term “remission” because there is no cure yet.
I get blood tests every three months, and my lab work has looked great over the last three visits. I am still taking one powerful anticancer drug at home. Recently, I have been wondering whether I should continue receiving this treatment or give my body a rest. If you stop this treatment, you risk the cancer coming back more quickly and losing the option to use this medicine again. Treatment cannot be repeated. There are still many treatment options open to me and new ones are being introduced all the time, but I don’t want to run through all the options too quickly. This treatment is effective and has minimal side effects. For now, I’m probably not going to roll the dice.
I wouldn’t call cancer a blessing, but it gave me blessings and perspective. I find more joy in small moments. Watch the snow fall outside my window, walk my dog on a quiet afternoon, and wake up every morning with the knowledge that I can choose hope today.
This training material was created with support from: Educational grants from Johnson & Johnson.
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