How Would You Use $100,000 To Improve Myeloma Care? | MyMyelomaTeam

Connect with others who understand.

sign up log in
Resources
About MyMyelomaTeam
Powered By
SPONSORED BY GSK ?

How Would You Use $100,000 To Improve Myeloma Care?

Written by Chris Greklek
Posted on January 18, 2022
View reactions

  • People with multiple myeloma may face myriad challenges, including health care disparities and unmet emotional needs.
  • The new Target the Future Think Tank Challenge is an initiative that aims to address challenges that members of the multiple myeloma community face.
  • As part of the challenge, an individual or nonprofit organization that develops the most innovative idea will receive a $100,000 grant to bring the idea to life.

There was nothing like the “finish-line feeling” of completing a 140-mile Ironman endurance race in a single day. Pride, gratitude, and relief rushed over me. But that memory stands in contrast to the frustration, fear, and uncertainty I experienced just a few months later, learning I had an incurable cancer, one with no finish line in sight.

I’m 54 years old, and I’ve been living with multiple myeloma for more than 14 years. Getting my diagnosis was a drawn-out, confusing process, compounded by the next challenge: selecting the best course of treatment. I still get choked up remembering the day I found out I had an incurable cancer — and realizing I had to search for the right words to explain it to my three young children. It was an emotional turmoil I wouldn’t wish on anyone, yet I knew in that moment I wanted to live. I wanted more than anything for my children to grow up with a father.

There’s a physical piece and a mental side to this disease, magnified by the ups and downs of relapse and remission. What people may not understand is that those of us with multiple myeloma experience emotional triggers every day. We can look healthy and happy, but we may also be fighting nausea, fatigue, or even an infection. We are trying to plan our lives around doctors’ appointments, lab work, and the emotional waiting game of test results. So even though I’m living proof that multiple myeloma is not a death sentence, uncertainty hangs over my head. I worry about when my next relapse will be and what my future might look like.

Though my children were very young when I was first diagnosed, I’ve been able to watch my son and two daughters grow into beautiful adults, go to college, and start careers. In fact, my youngest daughter recently started college at my alma mater, which fills me with pride. My children kept me motivated through many dark moments. The dream I’ve always held close to my heart is to someday walk my daughters down the aisle. Yet I’ve realized these dreams aren’t reasonable for everyone. Not everybody has a support team to help them navigate the treatment journey. This is why I want to tell my story.

As promising new treatments emerge, we need help addressing the challenges we continue to face. These include finding the right care at every step, relieving emotional burdens, and addressing disparities. I am inspired that a new initiative from pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the Target the Future Think Tank Challenge, is rooted in our community’s needs. This program is committed to making an impact by supporting the development of innovative solutions.

As part of the Target the Future challenge, an individual or nonprofit organization that develops the most innovative idea addressing the unmet needs of people with multiple myeloma will receive a $100,000 grant to bring the idea to life. I invite you to visit the site, learn more, and submit an idea. Chronic cancers take a different type of endurance to conquer, and new ideas can pave the way, targeting a better future for us all.

Learn more

Posted on January 18, 2022
View reactions
All updates must be accompanied by text or a picture.

Become a Subscriber

Get the latest articles about myeloma sent to your inbox.

Chris Greklek was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2008. Learn more about him here.

Related articles

When you’re first diagnosed with multiple myeloma, your doctor will prescribe first-line treatmen...

Refractory Myeloma: 6 Treatment Options

When you’re first diagnosed with multiple myeloma, your doctor will prescribe first-line treatmen...
After you receive a multiple myeloma diagnosis, first-line therapies are used to control the canc...

What Is the Relapse Rate for Multiple Myeloma? 9 Treatment Options After Relapse

After you receive a multiple myeloma diagnosis, first-line therapies are used to control the canc...
Maintenance therapy for multiple myeloma consists of ongoing treatment that starts after a stem c...

6 Facts About Myeloma Maintenance Therapy

Maintenance therapy for multiple myeloma consists of ongoing treatment that starts after a stem c...
Your immune system guards your body like a fortress, sending protective proteins called antibodie...

Bispecific T-Cell Engagers for RRMM: 6 Facts About a New Type of Treatment

Your immune system guards your body like a fortress, sending protective proteins called antibodie...
Every myeloma therapy option comes with potential benefits and potential risks.Your doctor will h...

Weighing the Risks and Benefits of Myeloma Treatment Options

Every myeloma therapy option comes with potential benefits and potential risks.Your doctor will h...
Palliative care is focused on helping you feel better while undergoing treatment for myeloma.A pa...

8 Palliative Care Fast Facts for Myeloma Treatment

Palliative care is focused on helping you feel better while undergoing treatment for myeloma.A pa...

Recent articles

Telling the difference between Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia (WM) and multiple myeloma is a lit...

Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia vs. Multiple Myeloma: 4 Differences

Telling the difference between Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia (WM) and multiple myeloma is a lit...
If you or a loved one is living with multiple myeloma, you might worry about the cancer spreading...

Can Multiple Myeloma Affect the Brain?

If you or a loved one is living with multiple myeloma, you might worry about the cancer spreading...
Relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) is an aggressive form of myeloma that can be hard to ...

Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma: What To Know

Relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) is an aggressive form of myeloma that can be hard to ...
Factors that influence life expectancy with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) include y...

Understanding Life Expectancy With Relapsed/Refractory Myeloma

Factors that influence life expectancy with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) include y...
This is a short guided meditation by Dr. Christiane Wolf on self-kindness, which gives you more s...

Self-Kindness When Struggling: 6-Minute Guided Meditation

This is a short guided meditation by Dr. Christiane Wolf on self-kindness, which gives you more s...
In welcome news to many who are immunocompromised, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) re...

Next COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Dose Approved

In welcome news to many who are immunocompromised, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) re...
MyMyelomaTeam My myeloma Team

Thank you for subscribing!

Become a member to get even more:

sign up for free

close