Our brother Tim has been living with Multiple Myeloma for the past nine years or more. There is currently no permanent cure for this type of blood cancer, but there are treatments which can send the disease into remission. This disease is so rare that each patient becomes, in effect, a test case which helps the MM doctors and community develop new drugs and treatments which, in turn, improves the chances of patients living longer and healthier lives.

 

Put as simply as possible, one of the treatments includes removing the patient’s own stem cells, then killing off all the bad cancer cells, followed by reinstalling the removed stem cells so they rebuild a brand-new immune system in the patient. Of course, this removes all the immunities the patient had built up prior to treatment, making them super susceptible to germs (especially in this age of Covid!). Tim had this treatment over 9 years ago and survived well-past the predicted 3–5-year remission prediction. But now it’s back, and time to repeat the process. He will go into the hospital right before Christmas for the procedure and stay in the hospital for 2-4 weeks until it is safe to return home, where he will then be quarantined for 3-6 months while his immune system regenerates. Obviously neither he, nor his wife Elisa, can be out in public earning a living during the quarantine. Add to these expenses, medical travel and deductibles.

 

Multiple Myeloma is an uncommon blood cancer of the plasma cells, a type of white blood cells in the bone marrow. With this condition, a group of plasma cells becomes cancerous and multiplies. This disease can damage the bones, immune system, kidneys, and red blood cell count. The condition is rare: in 2019, 32000 individuals in the U.S. were diagnosed with MM, bringing the approximate total number of Americans who currently had the disease to only 100,000.

 

The exact cause of MM is unknown; however, it starts with one atypical plasma cell that rapidly multiplies in the bone marrow. The resulting cancerous myeloma cells don’t have a typical life cycle – instead of multiplying and eventually dying, they continue dividing indefinitely.

 

Although there is not yet a permanent cure for this disease, the diagnosis is no longer the certain death sentence it use to be. The MM community’s efforts have helped bring new drugs through FDA-approval which can put it into remission for years until additional treatment is required. In August of 2020, it was reported that the average length of remission was 5-7-years; and now even decades! Each passing year brings more magnificent medical treatments which we hope will lead to longer, healthier lives for the patients and, eventually, a cure.

 

Stress can be a very destructive force to sufferers of MM. Stress disrupts the human immune system, and MM is a cancer of the immune system. A February 2012 report revealed that the stress hormone noradrenaline (the “flight” hormone, versus adrenaline, the “fight” hormone) may actually trigger cancer cell growth directly. You can see why it is so important to remove as much stress from the patients as possible during their battle with this disease.

 

Your contribution will not only help alleviate the stress of financial worry for this family but will also, in the long run, be helping to fund a cure for this disease.