Steve DeVinney

multiple myeloma coach since 2024

Dismissing my fatigue and bone pain in 2021 as normal for an overworked 53 year old guy, I put off seeing a doctor until my coworkers cornered me and forced me to go to the ER. My kidneys were failing and I went off a cliff as soon as I was admitted to the hospital. They assigned a nephrologist. He wanted to treat the kidney injury first. Fortunately a family friend who is a hem-onc got me switched to Winship at Emory and enrolled in a clinical trial for patients with acute kidney injury. I went though 4 cycles of Dara-RVd, then a pause for kyphoplasty of my S1 vertebra, then Auto SCT in November 2021. I’ve been in remission since. Although Revlimid restricts my exercise intensity, I’ve been able to resume almost the same exercise regimen as before. I’ve been fortunate to be able to work throughout (except for a couple weeks at the beginning and during SCT).

James Windmiller

multiple myeloma coach since 2021

In late 2017, I started to have some unusual neck pain. I thought it was just another round of pain from ankylosing spondylitis, which is an autoimmune diseases with arthritic like joint flare ups. In February 2018, that pain became excruciating, and after 2 trips to the ER and a misdiagnosis by at least 5 doctors, an MRI showed that a portion of my 4th vertebrae had broken off and was imbedded in my spinal cord. After major surgery with a platinum cage and plate insterted, the surgeon said he found a tumor. I was diagnosed as having solitary plasmacytoma, which is a fancy way of saying I just had one myeloma tumor. That was treated by radiation, and I was eventually able to return to a near normal life. In the fall of 2019, I had a PET scan as a follow up test to my prior treatment. Even though my lab work was pretty clean and I felt pretty well, the scan showed over a dozen lesions throughout my body. With a diagnosis of MM, I had 5 rounds of Velcade, Revlimid and Dexamethasone, followed by an autologous stem cell transplant in March 2020. I am currently in complete remission. I was put on Revlimid for maintenance, and later switched to Pomalyst and then Ninlaro, but am off all maintenance now because these meds worsened my peripheral neuropathy.

Gisely Signoretti

multiple myeloma coach since 2023

Hi, I'm Gisely and I was diagnosed at the age of 44, on December 2021. I live in Toronto (Canada) with my husband and my two wonderful daughters. For someone who was always active and full of life, it was a shock to receive the news that I had blood cancer. At first, everything seemed frightening, especially due to the delay in getting a specialist to confirm my diagnosis and start my treatment, but with a lot of faith, courage, and the support of my family and friends, I was able to transform all my fear and uncertainties into powerful allies to carry on forward and educate myself about my new reality. I am so grateful to have found HealthTree Foundation! It has played a key role in my life by helping me educate myself and never give up hope! For this reason, I would like to pass on all the support I've found to everyone who shares this same journey. If you ask me the first thing I would say to those on the starting line, it would be: ONE STEP AT A TIME, AND ALWAYS! Together we can and will go further!