Coffee with All4Cure - Aaron (1/2)

I am treated at a facility that has a lot of infrastructure built up around myeloma. I was 35 at the time of my myeloma diagnosis and I was probably the youngest patient there. I had more hair then. I joke with my doctor that I want my money back because when my hair grew back after treatment it didn’t all grow back! There are about 300 myeloma patients served at my treatment center and we all have pretty similar routines so I’ve gotten to know a lot of different people going through the same thing as me. Other patients would see how young I was and were surprised to learn that I have myeloma. One patient I met was a former Vietnam veteran. He was around 60 years old and from Boston. He had never been in full remission during his time with myeloma, had relapsed, and was there undergoing another stem cell transplant. The treatment was hard on him this time. He said to me “Hey, I've lived a good life. After this, I’m not coming back. But you, son, don’t you stop fighting.” Thankfully, I ended up seeing him a while later and learned he had reached full remission for the first time ever. He’s just one of so many people I’ve met along the way. The myeloma patient community is really neat and I’m so inspired by other people’s stories.