Dental concerns for Myeloma patients (video)

It started out with back pain. Rich thought he was just getting old and did the usual things; put heat on it, stretched, complained a little, and finally went to a physiotherapist and massage therapist. Nothing helped. It got worse and worse. Finally, he couldn't stand up straight without clutching his hockey stick to hold himself up. When he finally couldn't even sit up, it was time for an ambulance and a trip to emergency. That was when we found out that it was not just a sore back, but a tumour on his spine. He had cancer in his bone marrow and the tumour had burst through the bone. It's called Multiple Myeloma. This is where the cancer journey began. Rich spent the first month in the hospital getting radiation, chemotherapy, and a brace for his broken back. He continued 5 rounds of chemo at home while his back began to slowly heal. Luckily, the radiation seemed to work in shrinking the tumour and they put off the very complicated and risky spinal surgery, which would have included removing the entire bone and replacing it with a "bridge" using rods and screws. This was great news. But in June, six months into the journey, Rich went in for a consultation for his stem cell transplant treatment and was hit with a heavy blow. ALL of his teeth had to be extracted. He had an infection that was too dangerous to have during the stem cell treatment as his immune system will be at zero and unable to fight any infection at all. This would make his treatment impossible. Rich was devastated, but went through the painful extraction of all of his teeth. Now he is ready for the 3-4 week hospital stay to receive stem cell treatment - which involves heavy doses of chemotherapy, a lot of sickness, no immune system, and all of his hair falling out. It will be a tough time, but it's the best treatment for this disease.

Because Rich has been unable to work, being hit with a $9250 dental bill is pretty tough. Insurance was only able to pay a fraction - $1750 before it maxed out. The bill is now $7500. In Canada, we are lucky to live in a place where most of our medical costs are covered, but when you can't work and still have to pay for a LOT of medications, having an unexpected dental bill is difficult when combined with fighting the disease. We are asking for donations to help Rich bring down this expense. Thank you for reading his story.