Personal stories of myeloma

“My name is Juliette Royer but I go by Jules. I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma at the age of 47.  

In November of 2013, I booked a holiday to Jamaica with my girlfriends for February 2014, my birthday month. My family and friends know that I celebrate the whole month so I was going out to dinners and having fun!”

“I am Francine Ducas, an active woman with a passion for life. I had a job I loved and activities that brought me joy, when I started to feel very tired and experienced pain that I thought was muscular. I consulted the doctor who, following a blood test, referred me to the hematology department. It was on February 14, 2007, Valentine’s Day 18 years ago, that I received the GIFT of my cancerA term for diseases in which malignant cells divide without control. Cancer cells can invade nearby tissues and spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to other parts of the body. diagnosis…multiple myeloma.”

“My name is Maryse Bouchard, and I just turned 67 years old. I met the intruder who turned my life upside down in 2008, just before my 50th birthday. Its name was myeloma, and it was discovered during a routine blood test, thanks to the vigilance of my family doctor.”

Together, we helped organize what is now called the Multiple Myeloma March with Myeloma Canada.

My name is Guylaine Landry-Fréchette, and I was born on September 5, 1955.  

On March 3, 2024, I completed my sixth major international marathon in Tokyo. With pride, I received a medal symbolizing all the hard work that went into this accomplishment. I finished this 42 km marathon without any particular issues.  

Back home in Quebec, everything was fine.

However, on March 6th, when I was out for a short jog, I felt pain in my left thigh. I assumed it was just my body needing some post-marathon recovery time.

Hello, my name is Vasilios Sotiropoulos, aged 57, from Scarborough, Ontario. My friends know me as Billy.  

I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in July 2023 at the age of 56.

In May of 2017, I was diagnosed with two rare auto immune diseases: Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis (MPGN) in conjunction with MonoclonalA clone or duplicate of a single cell. Myeloma develops from a single malignant plasma cell (monoclone). The type of myeloma protein produced is also monoclonal; a single form rather than many forms (polyclonal). The important practical aspect of a monoclonal protein is that it shows up as a sharp spike (M spike) in the serum electrophoresis test. Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS).

It started in the summer of 2019, nearly five years ago, after having spent a night on a wooden plank in the emergency room for a broken rib.

On January 11, 2020, after months of medical consultations and tests, two doctors, courteous but not exactly “white glove service”, told my wife Annie and I that I had cancer.

It was the first time I’d heard the term ‘myeloma’. I was 44 years old. 

I remember looking at Annie, seeing the fear in her eyes, but also her determination as she said: ‘Come on, Jé, we’re going to war’.

Hello! I am Gisèle Fournier and I live with multiple myeloma.

Let’s travel back to spring 2020 for a short moment. What was happening at that time? Amongst other things, the beginnings of a pandemic…

After having worked for 20 years in France and Switzerland, I was in the midst of preparing my move back to Quebec when the first shutdown occurred in Switzerland.

Hi, my name is Nancy Bies, and I am living with multiple myeloma (MM). I’m originally from Victoria, BC but my husband and I live in Yellowknife, NWT.

In May 2019, at the age of 48, I was diagnosed with MM when doctors discovered abnormal protein levels in my blood while investigating why my heart was malfunctioning. This diagnosisThe process of identifying a disease by its signs and symptoms. was overwhelming, and initially, I struggled with the term “cancer,” so my doctor described it as a blood disorder.

My name is Ashely Taker and our story starts in October 2017. 

After a summer where my mom, Carolyn, wasn’t feeling herself and had some pain, and test after test came back negative, we all assumed she was just getting older and finally slowing down a bit. 

Boy, were we wrong.

Good day everyone. My name is Kevin Jacobs.

My journey with multiple myeloma began when I was diagnosed in March 2023. I was 53 years of age and up until then my life was full.

Married, 2 grown up children, a long and active career in law enforcement, firstly in England and now in Ottawa, Canada. I was a sporty person and played rugby well into my early 40’s. I was a football coach, active in my children’s lives and enjoyed many vacations with my very understanding wife!

My name is Yolande Paine and I was diagnosed with myeloma at age 58. In June 2012, while waiting to board a plane at Vancouver International Airport, I received a phone call that would forever change my life.  The hematologistA doctor who specializes in the problems of blood and bone marrow. wanted to see me the next morning to perform a bone marrow biopsyRemoval of bone marrow tissue for examination under a microscope. for suspected multiple myeloma. I did get him to agree to wait until the following Monday and, in a daze, I boarded that plane to Montreal.