Grateful for the gift

This flower was chosen for it's color;
the deep maroon is the color that MM
supporters use for fund-raising.

When Multiple Myeloma appeared on the horizon of my life with a relative's announcement about this time in 2009, I could not see farther down the road than the next treatment and certainly with all the news about the current situation at that time it did not seem hopeful.

Now, seven years later, the relative is off all medications and is moving, literally, into a new life.

For the individual, it was the autologous stem cell transplant from a close relation that turned things around. But it was at least two years after the transplant before we were seeing green lights.

All of this is still important because a friend has discovered some seriously flawed information that is making its way into the MM threads.

Please read her post at: http://www.loripuente.com/icer-epic-fail/ and draw your own conclusions.

What is really important is that false information is not allowed to proliferate in a field where hope is so fragile and where successes hold so much promise. Let's make sure this does not become cemented anywhere and used for future data or research.

And meanwhile, I am grateful for the gift of life for my relative, appreciative of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and Fred Hutch and UW for all they did and are doing to solve the mystery of MM.