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 a background in ICU care and cardiac research, I was able to quickly understand the complexity of my diagnosis and treatment options, but that didn’t make the emotional side of the journey any easier. Today, I draw on both my clinical experience and my lived experience as a patient to help others navigate their own myeloma journeys. I’ve become deeply involved in the myeloma community, serving as a HealthTree Coach and leading a support group on Long Island as well as co-leading a high risk support group. Through this work, connecting with patients one-on-one and in group settings, I’ve seen how much it matters to feel heard, informed, and not alone. That sense of community can be just as important as the treatment itself. I felt called to this role because I truly believe we are meant to help one another. There is something uniquely comforting about speaking with someone who understands, not just the medical language, but the emotional weight that comes with a diagnosis like this. Even with a strong and loving support system, this has been an incredibly difficult experience. My hope is to offer others the understanding, empathy, and reassurance I wished for early in my own journey; support shaped by both my nursing background and what I’ve learned as a patient along the way. From a treatment perspective, I have had my stem cells harvested but have deferred transplant for now. I have the t(11;14) translocation and have been on Venetoclax for over three years. I’ve also been on Kyprolis for just about three years, and Daratumumab and I’m very open to sharing my experience with these therapies for those who are considering them. More recently, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and have undergone a lumpectomy and radiation. If you are navigating both a breast cancer diagnosis and multiple myeloma, I am especially open to supporting you through that unique and often overwhelming experience. 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, because no one should have to go through this alone.

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 .

Doug Keller

multiple myeloma coach since 2021

I was diagnosed in 2012 after I fell at my son's college graduation and broke my arm, which had a plasmacytoma in it. After radiation and induction therapy I had a stem cell transplant in 2013. Subsequently I was on various combinations of Revlimid, Elotuzumab, Daratumumab, Pomalyst, Kyprolis, and dexamethasone. I tried a clinical trial that was not successful for me and then had another SCT in 2020. After a year I relapsed again and had Carvykti CAR-T therapy in June, 2022. I was in remission for the first time, and stayed in remission for 28 months. Since relapsing in late 2024 I've been on bispecific antibodies, first teclistamab (Tecvayli) and now talquetamab (Talvey), with mixed success. I worked for 22 years in pharmaceutical research and was involved in the development of Sarclisa, which was personally very satisfying. I retired in January 2021. My wife is happy to have me doing things around the house and showing less stress. She has been a rock of support during this whole process, and my two sons are also very supportive. My quality of life is very good, and I have been enjoying getting back on the golf course now that I have time to play. I am also informally mentoring friends who have smoldering myeloma. In 2022 I had Carvykti CAR-T and went into remission for 28 months. I went back on treatment with teclistamab, which didn't work, and now talquetamab. Talquetamab alone didn't work, but in combination with lenalidomide it worked extremely well.