Here’s a history of how I found out I had cancer. Although my story is long, feel free to add, takeaway & add your touch of words. I’m not a writer at all & I don’t speak the correct grammar lol so please bear with me.

On Friday February 14, 2020 I started having chest pains. I thought I was having a heart attack. Over the course of that weekend I ended up at two emergency rooms. Each visits, the Emergency room doctor brushed it off as if I was having back spasms or pleural effusion.That following Monday my PCP was out of town for a week so I contacted another dr whom I have seen in the past. He wasn’t any help either! Instead of doing scans to see why was I in so much pain, they gave me so many pain meds to eased the pain. I went back to see him two more times because my symptoms worsen. I could barely walk. I finally said, if u don’t know what’s wrong with me admit me to the hospital. I was admitted & the first thing I asked for was a scan. Come to find out my T2 bone had fractured in my back & it was pressing up against my spinal cord. Via ambulance I was transferred immediately to Baptist for surgery. Everybody wanted to know how did a healthy 37 year old bone just break like that. A pathological fracture is what I had; meaning an injury didn’t cause it. Every test was ran while at Baptist & I do mean every test! One test results came back saying it WAS NOT cancer. That was a relief, but a few days later, I hear the C word again! It was confirmed that I had a blood cancer called multiple myeloma. I never heard of this disease. Surely he just made this up! I instantly ran to google to look it up & according to them, this disease was “an old person’s disease”! My oncologist at that time did not have any bed side manners. He would always use these big terminology & I had to ask him every time to break it down. He was inconsiderate and whatever he said it went in one ear & out the other. I knew I wanted a second opinion & I wasn’t worried about anything but going to rehab to learn how to walk again. I did well in rehab & was the “pet patient”! Lol The goal was to leave there walking on my own, but because I was walking around for 10 days with a broken bone pushing up against my spinal, it was a spot that hasn’t healed yet. It would take time..years or months. Once home I did NOT use my cane. I did not want to depend on it at all. (Hard headed I am) My mom & I walked daily to gain my strength back. Finally, I could walk without my cane, but couldn’t run yet. I was able to run about 6 months after surgery. (Thank GOD)

Second opinion/Treatment.

One of my coworkers told me about a great oncologist by the name of Dr. Atiq. I met with him & although he didn’t think I had myeloma, he referred me to the myeloma cancer institute in Little Rock for my second opinion. I had to do all these testing again. It was a horrible experience for me. The sticks & needles, bone marrow procedures was rough. I was constantly asking GOD why me? What did I do that was so bad for me to go through this? It was confirmed again that it was myeloma. Still in denial, I stated that if u say this is what I have; how do we fix it. Aggressive Chemo is what he stated along with my 1st dr. I’m not going to go in details, but the treatment plan he laid out for me didn’t make sense. Once he left the room, I met with members of my team & they didn’t agree with his plan either. As a woman, the first thing u think about is loosing your hair. One day I vented to my best friend & she told me about a chemo pill & to her understanding it didn’t make your hair come out. Still in disbelief, I joined two support groups on Facebook. I learned so much about myeloma including current treatments & indeed it was a pill that wasn’t aggressive but yet effective but I had to get a chemo port as well for an infusion. For some reason my dr did not want me to get the chemo pill so my next appointment I did not go. I was going to travel out of state for my care. Many of u know that I am stubborn. I want what I want & if it’s a way around it, I’m going to achieve it! I can laugh about it now, but when I missed my appointment everybody called me..including my dr. To be honest, he was a bully. We both wanted things done our way, but this is my body, u can’t make me do anything and I will find a doctor who will! We argue on the phone for 4 mins & he finally stated, I’ll give u the pill; just come back to see me! I could tell that he wasn’t used to a patient like me. I’m vocal & I want what I want. Yes, u are the expert, but I want the new medicine. I have private insurance & my cancer isn’t aggressive so why should we use aggressive treatment! I wanna keep my hair if I could! He told me that we were on the same team & he let me have my way! I choose my own treatment plan & guess what? My plan worked. I’m in remission & I got to keep my hair. I am a social worker. I’m always advocating for others so now it was my time to advocate for myself. I am 100 percent involved in my care! If something don’t feel right, I don’t do it & I’ll see if my way will work or not & so far I have been kicking tale! There is no cure for myeloma, but like high blood pressure or being a diabetic, it is very treatable. My suggestion to everyone who is diagnosed with any illness is to get a second opinion..get a third opinion if that’ll make u feel better. They make new medicines everyday & if a certain medication have a side effect that you don’t want to have, make it known & see what your options are. Ask questions! Join a support group to learn as much as you can! With the type of cancer I had, it was various treatments. Neither one of my doctors gave me an option! I had to do my own research & I’m glad I did. I know for some people it’s hair & it’ll grow back, but it was MY HAIR & if they have meds that was effective & not as aggressive let’s try it! Get you a great support system & find a reason to fight! It was my children for me. No one is raising them but me! & another reason why I was able to get through what I was going through was because I thought about the little children who had to go through what I’m experiencing. They didn’t do anything to deserve what they were going through & If they could do it with a smile on their face, I for sure can! Being depressed wasn’t an option for me! Being depressed wasn’t going to help my children at all nor my situation. I’m raising happy kids regardless of my situation & my kids will not suffer! I sucked it up & I gave it to God, so why worry?! I still lived my life & every chance I got I still took my kids on vacation. I only told a few people about my cancer because I didn’t need nor want any sympathy at all & I did NOT need a reminder that I had cancer. The reason why I’m speaking on it now is because GOD has NEVER left my side. I got sick when covid first hit. We didn’t understand covid & the effects it would have on my immune system because of course it would be hard for me to fight covid so my dr didn’t release me to go back to work. I haven’t worked in two years! Everyone knows how hard it is to get disability, but I got it on my 1st try. My kids were eligible for benefits as well. I never went without anything nor did my children. My support system was amazing; especially my mom & my sisters! I have been talking about going back to school for awhile so I used being off work to my advantage. If all goes well, I will be graduating Graduate School in June with my master’s in social work. When I decide I’m ready to go back to work I’ll have my masters degree & hopefully I’ll pass the licensure exam. I don’t know why things happen in life, but in order to get through it, you have to change your mindset! If I didn’t tell you, you wouldn’t known I was sick because I kept my sense of humor, I changed my mindset & guess what else? I continued to live my life without any worries! I gave it to GOD & I left it there! I’m a two year cancer survivor & I rock