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I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma fifteen years ago. Multiple Myeloma is a cancer that attacks the Plasma Cells of the blood. It used to be known as rare, but I wonder about that designation these days. There is no cure; however, research and treatment, over the last two decades, have resulted in significantly longer survival rates. Realizing that God guides the hands of researchers and medical professionals everywhere is why I feel the last fifteen years have been some of my best.
I received word of my diagnosis on March 10, 2000 at 2:00 PM. That moment will always be fresh in my mind. As I look back now, I couldn’t have been in a better place, spiritually and literally. I had faith in God, and I worked for the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, which has one of the leading Multiple Myeloma research and treatment institutes in the world. There, I was able to be enrolled in a leading clinical trial that to date has a 75% survival rate, compared too much lower survival rates of trial groups before.
Although I have experienced numerous health issues over the last fifteen years, among them, pneumonia, sepsis, (resulting in a five-day coma), a hip replacement, and more, God rewarded me with the most productive years of my career. I am now retired, living a good life, enjoying my grandchildren and looking forward to more years of joy. I’m still being seen regularly by doctors, but my life is good. Furthermore, one of the greatest by-products of my experience is that I’m now one of the best testimonies God could ever have for His glory and honor. You can’t imagine the hope my very presence in the Multiple Myeloma clinic brings to recently diagnosed patients, when I tell them of my journey. St. Paul said it right, “My grace is sufficient for my strength is made perfect in weakness…” (II Corinthians 12:9a)