Taming Multiple Myeloma

Those of us doing TNT work hard to be a small part of a cure for tough and deadly blood cancers. We ask for money over and over, we train in all kinds of weather, we put hundreds of miles on our feet and running shoes. There are times when it seems like too much. Are we really making a difference?

That is why I felt so exuberant about some news I heard last week on the radio: that we are making tremendous progress with multiple myeloma. This is a painful cancer of the bone marrow that has been incurable, and is on the increase. It is one of the four major blood cancers that fall within the mission of LLS, the others being leukemia, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and Hodgkin lymphoma.

When I heard this story, my first thought is “We are making a difference! Our efforts, and the generosity of our donors, are helping to come up with cures and treatments.”

There is still no cure for multiple myeloma, but there are now many options for managing this terrible disease. Even if you don’t read the article, this one statement to me gave me such hope for the many thousands of people dealing with myeloma:

"The excitement here is that we have six new treatment options that we didn't have only five years ago," Anderson says. "And we have three additional treatment strategies that are in the last stages, so-called phase three clinical trials, that likely will create additional options."

Think about this – in only five years, researchers have come up with six new treatment options! And there are three more almost ready to roll out! Five years! Five years ago, I was just a year and a few months removed from my own cancer. These things did not exist when I finished cancer treatments.

This is incredible news! Just think what the next five, ten, or fifteen years will bring!

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