March is Myeloma Awareness Month and the perfect time to highlight a free support group that is open to everybody at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.
Every second Saturday, the North Texas Myeloma Support Group meets at Baylor on the 10th floor of the Sammons Cancer Center from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. This group is a wonderful group of men and women that are patients and caregivers; some of whom are 10+ year survivors, some are newly diagnosed, and everywhere in between. The group has speakers who discuss new drug therapies, nutrition, caregiver support, and many other topics specific to their disease.
At a recent meeting, we had a few newcomers to the group, some of whom had recently been diagnosed with multiple myeloma. There is so much information out there to sift through – which doctors specialize in treating myeloma, what treatment to do, what the numbers mean, and how to cope. These patients and caregivers who came to the meeting with a "deer in the headlights" look left that afternoon with answers to their questions, acknowledgement of their fears, steps to move forward, and a sense of community. We were able to sign them up for the LLS First Connection program and get them plugged in with other resources to help them navigate through their diagnosis.
If you or a loved one have been touched by myeloma, I strongly encourage you to come to one of these groups.
Blessings,
Kelsey
Kelsey Thompson is a Patient Advocate for the North Texas Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She understands the patient experience as a blood and marrow transplant registered nurse. She is based at Baylor University Medical Center in the Cvetko Center. She meets with patients and their families after receiving a blood cancer diagnosis.
Contact Kelsey:
(214) 818-7890
(214) 818-7890
Kelsey.Thompson@lls.org
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