Marie Barnes

multiple myeloma coach since 2026

In the fall of 2024, I was seen in the emergency room for severe pain on my right side. The results showed an unknown etiology and anemia. My PCP was proactive and also ordered multiple tests and a referral to a hematologist for the anemia. The anemia was concerning because there was no history. After multiple labs, PET scan and bone marrow biopsy, I was diagnosed on December 16, 2024. I received weekly treatment from January to April 2025. The plan was for me to have a stem cell transplant (STC). The transplant occurred at the end of May, and I established remission on October 1, 2025. Recent complications caused my maintenance to cease. On Jsnuary 13, 2026, my maintenance treatnent resumed.

Martha Commesse

multiple myeloma coach since 2025

My husband was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma High risk last year 2024. He is currently 75 years old and he is on remission after SCT We choose MD Anderson Hospital in Houston Texas for treatment. I learned with this experience that every decision we made was important to evaluate it carefully and that we also needed it to become our own Advocates I realized very soon that we were lacking something very important: “knowledgment about this desease” Through my life I have heard a phrase that makes sense now: “obtaining education it’s important, but more important it is, from whom you are getting it” Fortunately we found out about Health Tree Foundation. I will like to become a coach to help others go through this journey and to keep continually educating myself .

Terry Glassman

multiple myeloma coach since 2023

I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma / Primary Plasma Cell Leukemia on November 17, 2022. As a registered nurse with ICU and cardiac research experience, my medical background helped me quickly grasp the complexity of my diagnosis and the treatments involved. Today, I use both that clinical knowledge and my lived experience as a patient to help others navigate their own myeloma journeys. I felt called to coach and support others because I truly believe our greatest purpose is helping one another. There is something uniquely powerful about speaking with someone who genuinely understands what you’re going through. Even with a strong and loving support system, this experience has been incredibly hard. I hope to offer others the understanding, empathy, and reassurance I wished for during my own journey, shaped by both my nursing background and what I’ve learned as a patient. From a treatment perspective, I have had my stem cells harvested but am currently holding off on transplant unless it becomes necessary. I have the t(11;14) translocation and have been on venetoclax for over two years. I was also treated with Kyprolis for two years, and I’m happy to share my personal experience with these therapies for anyone considering them. More recently, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and have undergone a lumpectomy and radiation, and I will be starting Arimidex soon. If you are navigating a breast cancer diagnosis alongside multiple myeloma, I’m very open to talking about that experience as well. If sharing what I’ve learned helps even one person feel less overwhelmed, less afraid, or less alone, then I’ve accomplished exactly what I set out to do.