I was a 49 year-old father of five adolescent kids with a demanding job and a time-consuming commute when I was diagnosed with MM in 2003. That news, delivered clumsily by my hematologist, left me shell-shocked in his waiting room for over an hour. Nothing gets your attention like a mid-life reminder of your mortality.

Several organizations offer mentoring opportunities as a way that we can help each other through the multiple myeloma journey. Patients can sign up to have another, experienced patient serve as a mentor. And experienced patients can learn how they can use their experience to mentor other patients. Below are links to some of these opportunities.
"My Myeloma Story with the Elephant on My Back"
Julie was diagnosed with high-risk multiple myeloma in October, 2020. She was asked by The Patient Story website to tell her story. Her story is so compelling that we asked her to let us link to it.
As the shortest of short summaries, she has undergone 4 lines of treatment in less than 3 years, which includes 2 clinical trials.
As an active retired nurse, after six years of routine blood tests showing MGUS, Meryle was diagnosed with active multiple myeloma in January of 2019. She has been having treatment since then, and is still very active and living life.
Meryl recently talked about her myeloma journey with Patient Power.