Reducing the Multiple Myeloma Mortality Gap

The useful part

In 2015, Valarie Traynham visited her primary care physician (PCP) after weeks of intense exhaustion, serious nosebleeds, back pain and flu-like infections. Her PCP noted high protein levels in Traynham's bloodwork and referred her to a hematologist-oncologist, a doctor who treats cancers of the blood. Traynham, then 42, received more tests, including full body X-rays and a bone marrow biopsy that led to her being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a disease she'd never heard of.

How it works

• She felt something wasn't right, and her aunt, a breast cancer survivor, suggested she visit a specialist.
• "When I was diagnosed with myeloma at a local community center, I wasn't going to get a second opinion because I just wanted to start treatment and get rid of it," Traynham said.
• "I remember the doctor saying, 'You can go if that's what you want to do, but they're going to tell you the same thing I'm telling you.'" Traynham went anyway, a decision that might have saved her life.
• It also started her path to becoming an advocate for multiple myeloma awareness and education in the Black community.

Details worth keeping

Multiple myeloma is the second most common blood c...