Coffee with All4Cure - Michael (1/3)

My wife encouraged me to start playing golf with her after I retired. We were spending a 6 months Michigan get-away in Medellin, Colombia. So I gave it a try, but one day after I teed off, I came home that night hurting. “That darn golf hurt my ribs,” I remember telling my wife. We returned to Michigan and it never got any better. The pain kept getting worse and I found myself getting tired. I finally went to my primary care physician, got some tests, and began taking medication for a lung infection. Three antibiotics and six weeks later, I still wasn’t any better! Finally, my wife and I packed our bags to head to the University of Michigan emergency room. Within 12 hours they diagnosed me with myeloma. I might not have known if I hadn’t tried out golf, it's amazing how sometimes it can take a while to find your way to a myeloma diagnosis. I was stage three at the time of my diagnosis. I had great induction and stem cell transplant treatment at the University of Michigan. We later moved to Florida, and I'm treated at Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida. In the process, I also sought out a second opinion at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. It was there that I met Dr. Asher Chanan-Khan who was the head of the myeloma unit at the time. He has changed position at Mayo but he was perhaps one of the most inspiring people I've ever met. I was so taken aback by his abilities as a listener and how good our communication was. He gave me good advice and greatly supported my treatment at Moffitt. He was a kind person and I was struck with how wonderfully he listened and dialogued with me.