Amyloidosis Patient Panel: What's Working for Them

Cynthia is a newborn ICU nurse by trade that has spent the last six years in the medical device industry educating nurses and doctors about devices that are new to their facility. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, traveling the world with her family, and creating Halloween animatronics for her annual front yard display. She has a passion for life-long learning and enjoys sharing what she learns with the people around her.

Qun-Bin was diagnosed in May of 2022 with MM and Cardiac AL Amyloidosis. His disease responded well, and he has been in remission since August 2022 and is currently on maintenance treatment. Qun-bin is a first-generation Chinese American who is fluent in Mandarin and likes to offer support to the AAPI community in particular. As an Asian American, he has a bicultural understanding of the disease process and the alternatives in dealing with treatment, side effects, and recovery journeys; such as traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture points, Taichi and Qigong, and other fitness exercises. He feels lucky to have a supportive family, a caring medical team, and a warm family in HealthTree.

Ann was diagnosed at 64 in August, 2022 after her primary care physician ordered a urinalysis during her annual physical. It was abnormal and she quickly referred Ann to a Myeloma specialist/hematologist Though she had no symptoms at all and was very active, Ann was diagnosed with Stage 3 Myeloma and AL Amyloidosis. She had an ASCT in January 2023 and is currently receiving Revlimid and Dara for maintenance therapy. She has continued to be very active: traveling to Europe; hiking in the mountains; playing tennis; and doing reformer pilates all at the same intensity/frequency as before her diagnosis. It was important to her to stay active throughout her diagnosis and treatment. She was playing tennis 5 weeks after ASCT, and back to league play in 2 months. She has received tremendous value from HealthTree coaches and is passionate about paying it forward and wants to support others in their myeloma journey.

Dave is no stranger to a cancer diagnosis. He was diagnosed with cancer of the: prostate (age 44); colon (age 50); and thyroid (age 54). All three were cured with surgery. He was diagnosed with Myeloma and AL Amyloidosis in 2015. Myeloma typically is not a cancer that runs in families, but Dave's sister and father were also diagnosed with Myeloma. Dave believes in God, Family, and Country. Dave worked for 25 years installing and supporting computer networks and integration of small- and medium-sized businesses nationwide. His specialty was cybersecurity in order to protect company intellectual properties. He enjoys camping, hunting, fly fishing, cooking, technology, and has trained and showed in dog shows. He and his wife love Golden retrievers and Flat-Coated Retrievers. Dave joined the HealthTree Myeloma Coach program in Fall 2023 and is passionate about supporting patients at all stages in their myeloma journey.