My cancer journey, if not unique, is certainly rare. I diagnosed my own cancer. In 2015, after experiencing unusually deep, visceral, and physical fatigue, I underwent basic laboratory testing, and one of the results was significantly abnormal. As a hematologist, I recognized that this may be an indication of a rare type of cancer, multiple myeloma. I ordered additional tests to further evaluate that possibility, and those tests also came back strongly suggestive of myeloma. At that point, I approached one of my close friends and colleagues, Dr. Ola Landgren, a world leader in the field of myeloma. We discussed the findings and possibilities. Within a few days, I had a bone marrow biopsy and imaging studies, confirming the diagnosis of myeloma. I underwent nine months of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, and then five years of low-dose maintenance chemotherapy after the transplant. I have been in long-term remission. No cancer, no hint of cancer, and I feel as good as I felt in many years.
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