Myeloma

My personal story with blood cancer started in 2020 but nobody really knew how long it was brewing. A day came when back spasms started raging and my Primary Care Physician (PCP) sent me to physical therapy (PT). It didn’t take more than 1 visit to PT to know that was a bust and finally my PCP sent me to the Hematologist.

I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM) in 2016. I had a hip replacement, and a mass was found on my hip, so I was referred to a cancer doctor. But the strangest thing was, I had no symptoms, so I went to the doctor, and I went through all kinds of tests. The doctor told me, “You have MM,” and I am like what's that? She said it was a blood cancer.

Like many who get diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM), it comes out of nowhere. For me, it was mysterious aches and pains that crept up quickly. An alert doctor ordered tests, and eventually, MGUS, the precursor of MM, was first diagnosed. Within a month, MM was confirmed. MM is a blood/bone cancer that can affect the entire body.

In 2017, I was 52 and in pretty good shape. I was at the gym working out, and after a certain lift, I could not get off the bench by myself. After being helped up, I somehow drove myself home. The next morning, I could not get out of bed without my wife lifting me up. We went straight to the doctor and got an MRI.