At 22 years old, I thought my future was just beginning. Instead, I found myself lying in a hospital bed learning that I had multiple myeloma (MM), a cancer of the bone marrow.
For months, I had been experiencing back pain that continued to worsen. What I didn't know was that cancer was silently weakening my spine. Eventually, a cancerous tumor caused one of my vertebrae to collapse, and my back suddenly broke. I was rushed into emergency spinal fusion surgery.
In an instant, everything changed.
I went from being a healthy young woman focused on building my future to facing a life-threatening cancer diagnosis. The physical pain was overwhelming, but the emotional weight of hearing the words "you have cancer" at just 22 years old was something I could never have prepared for.
Following surgery, I had to relearn how to walk properly. What once came naturally became something I had to fight for one step at a time.
I remember feeling tremendous fear and uncertainty about what lay ahead. Yet even in those darkest moments, I experienced something else: hope. My faith in God became my anchor. I did not know how the journey would unfold, but I believed He would walk beside me through every step of it.
My treatment journey would become far longer than I ever imagined.
I underwent radiation treatments and chemotherapy, followed by a stem cell transplant. Later, my sister became my donor, giving me the gift of a donor bone marrow transplant. Her selfless act provided me with another opportunity to continue fighting.
After treatment, I was blessed with eight years of remission. For eight years, life felt normal again. I was able to focus on living rather than surviving. Those years were a gift I will never take for granted.
Then the cancer returned.
Hearing that I had relapsed was devastating. Once again, I faced radiation, chemotherapy, and the uncertainty that comes with blood cancer. Just when I thought I had overcome another obstacle, I relapsed two years after that.
My sister once again stepped in to help save my life through donor lymphocyte infusions. I remain deeply grateful for her willingness to continue giving of herself throughout this journey. More recently, I received CAR-T cell therapy with CARVYKTI, an innovative treatment that has provided another opportunity for hope.
Cancer has been part of my life for the past fourteen years. It has taken me through surgeries, transplants, treatments, setbacks, and victories. It has taught me lessons about perseverance, gratitude, faith, and the incredible strength that can be found in both family and community.
Throughout this journey, I have been incredibly blessed by the support of my family, caregivers, medical teams, and organizations like Blood Cancer United. The educational resources, support programs, and sense of community they provided helped not only me, but also those walking beside me through the hardest seasons. One of the greatest honors was participating in Blood Cancer United's Woman of the Year campaign, where I was humbled to receive the Mission Integration Award.
While cancer has shaped my story, it does not define it.
Today, I am a wife, a mother to twin boys, a photographer, an author, and an advocate. I built my own photography business where I have the privilege of preserving life's most meaningful moments for families. My experiences have given me a deeper appreciation for life's ordinary moments—the moments that many people overlook until they are threatened. A family dinner, a child's laughter, a walk outside, a birthday celebration—these are gifts I no longer take for granted.
My cancer journey also inspired me to become an author. Recently, I published my first book, a gift book created for those walking through cancer, grief, loss, and other hardships when words are difficult to find. I am currently working on a second book, a memoir that shares my story in greater depth and the lessons God has taught me throughout this journey.
If there is one message I would share with anyone facing blood cancer today, it is this:
Do not lose hope.
There will be days when fear feels louder than faith. There will be moments when the road ahead seems impossible to navigate. But your diagnosis is not the end of your story.
Hope can exist alongside uncertainty.
Strength can be found in weakness.
And even in life's muddiest places, something beautiful can still grow.
Fourteen years after hearing the words "you have cancer," I am still here. I am profoundly grateful—to my family, to the medical professionals who cared for me, to organizations that supported me along the way, and most of all to God for this gift of life.
My journey is living proof of that.
D'Ann
multiple myeloma (MM)
