March marks Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month.
The blood cancer does not currently have a cure, with myeloma being the second most common form of blood cancer, with not much known about the illness.
That is why it is so important to raise awareness about it, says Brian Treadwell, leader of the Lethbridge Myeloma Support Group.
He explains that when someone has ‘myeloma’, the cancer is concentrated in one area of their body, while ‘multiple myeloma’ means the cancer is spread out throughout the body.
Treadwell was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in early 2021, after seeing his doctor for major fatigue. He advises everyone to avoid ignoring any simple aches and pains and to go see their family physician to get checked out.
“A lot of people just let little aches and pains go on and on, and you go to your family physician and they’re really not sure why you might have that ache, that pain, and sometimes you’re just sent home and both of you don’t really know what it is,” he notes.
With that, Treadwell says self-advocation is so important.
“It’s really time for you to self-advocate [and] maybe push that doctor to send you to get a little more tests done. I was lucky enough to have my family physician clue into the fact that maybe he should send me off to an oncologist to have some work done.”
Additionally, Treadwell suggests that when you visit the doctor, bring someone you trust along to help take notes. He remarks that when people hear the word ‘cancer’, many will solely focus on that word, and most of what else the doctor says can be easily forgotten.
“Two sets of ears are better than one,” he remarks, adding as tempting as it is, you should avoid Googling symptoms or illnesses. Treadwell says the best resource for information on myeloma is the Myeloma Canada website.
Although there is no cure currently for the disease, the 70-year-old is optimistic, saying research is coming along.
“Survival rates have gone from five years to where people who have myeloma are going on 15 [to] 20 years. That’s the great thing about it. New research has come along, and the researchers are now talking about a cure,” Treadwell says.
“Those of us who have it might not get a cure immediately, but those who are newly diagnosed, well, they might find that they will be having a cure just down the road. It’s getting better. It’s just like all forms of cancer – cures are on the horizon.”
A flag raising outside Lethbridge City Hall highlighted the month earlier this week, with City Hall lit up in red overnight Monday, March 10, for further awareness about the disease.
