June 7th was National Cancer Survivor Day.  We want to pause and celebrate all survivors of multiple myeloma.    We applaud you in your efforts to not only survive, but THRIVE.    We honor you for your perseverance, strength, and compassion.

We recently shared how fellow myeloma survivor, Louis Rudnick has fiercely faced her battle against myeloma with tenacity, humor and a positive attitude.  She is a wonder to all who know her.  This is one of hundreds of stories of incredible myeloma survivors.

When diagnosed with myeloma you find yourself in a “club” that you did not ask to join, but one that I have found is filled with compassionate, individuals with the desire to support one another.  The Myeloma Coach program is one example of this.  The program has over 125 myeloma survivors and caregivers all willing to share what they have learned to help others.  They have decided to give back by connecting with others who are earlier in their myeloma journey.

FIND or BECOME a MYELOMA COACH

The Myeloma Crowd is committed to providing tools to assist all with myeloma to continue to thrive and live fully.  These tools can help you become your best advocate, educate yourself to make informed treatment decisions and direct your care.  Utilize the invaluable resources listed below to educate yourself.  This will help you seek out the right treatment at the right time as we all work together for a CURE.

• HealthTree: a free, online tool created by myeloma patients for myeloma patients. It can be used to navigate your care while also helping advance a cure.  HealthTree empowers patients with myeloma knowledge, connects them to peers in similar situations and identifies personalized treatment options. At the same time it helps the research community develop new hypotheses about optimal treatment strategies and identifies best practices in myeloma care.
• HealthTree University:  offers a full curriculum all about multiple myeloma. It's important to have a basic understanding of myeloma topics in order to have better conversations with your doctor and healthcare team about the best treatment and line of care for you. It also enables you to make better decisions for yourself--to be your own myeloma advocate!
• Myeloma Crowd Round Tables are day-long patient education meetings with top myeloma experts. Each meeting is focused on assisting patients and caregivers in making the best decisions about their treatment and care. The presentations make the most difficult issues in myeloma research and treatment—high-risk, relapsed and refractory disease—understandable in plain language.  Myeloma Crowd Round Tables provide patients and caregivers updated information to help make informed treatment decisions.   In response to COVID-19 precautions Round Table events are now presented in a virtual format.  Register for the next Interactive Myeloma Crowd Round Table Webcast here.