Hi, my name is Von, and back in 2008, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I didn't want to die, but prayer and God sent me right to the perfect doctor: Dr. Moran from Brunswick, GA. I got through chemotherapy and radiation with a breeze, and I'm now in remission for 13 years.
Then, in March 2020, I was diagnosed with a blood cancer, multiple myeloma! Something that I didn't even know I had. I went to the hospital because I was experiencing unusual, severe pain in my sides, but by the time the doctors found out what was wrong with me, the myeloma had fractured two of my ribs and all of my bones were affected by this horrible cancer.
My treatment included a chemotherapy shot, an oral cancer drug in combination with a steroid, and a bone injection every three weeks. I continue to take the oral cancer drug and receive a bone injection. Due to the pandemic, I haven’t been able to work since my diagnosis and I had to be tested for COVID-19 for every procedure at my appointments.
It's 2021, and thankfully, I'm doing much better. I look at life so differently. Every day I wake up, I appreciate life. I enjoy my life so much more now; I take time to just enjoy me and what I want to do for myself. Waking up every day without any pain is such a blessing to me. I simply take one day at a time.
I want to thank Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. And to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), you guys have been the best! Thanks for all the financial help and information on your website, which has really helped me understand more about myeloma and how to get through this. Support from LLS truly has been a blessing, with helping me pay for my medicine. I was also approved for LLS's Susan Lang Pay-It-Forward Patient Travel Assistance Program because I have to drive two hours one way to appointment and treatment.
My suggestion to anyone who has been diagnosed with myeloma is to have a strong faith in healing and stay around positive people. Having a good support system helps you cope with your disease.