(NAPSA)—You may be surprised to learn that multiple myelomais the second most common cancer of the blood, after leukemia. It starts in plasma cells, a type of white blood cell. In time, myeloma cells collect in the bone marrow and may damage the solid part of the bone and eventually harm othertissues and organs, such as the skeleton and the kidneys. In fact, there are approximately 114,000 new cases diagnosed every year. If you or a loved one is among the 230,000 people living with mul- People with multiple myeloma can learn about their condition from other patients trained to explain it. tiple myeloma worldwide there are a few facts you should know. What Can Be Done For many people with the disease, an autologous stem cell transplant may be an answerfor eligible patients. This involves collecting the patient's own blood-forming stem cells and storing them. He or she is then treated with high doses of chemotherapy or a combination of chemotherapy andradiation. This kills cancercells but also eliminates the remaining blood-producing stem cells in the bone marrow. Afterward, educational seminar. The main benefit is that multiple myeloma patients know they’re not alone, and the program provides educational resources and services that help patients and families navigate their journey to achieve the best possible outcomes. As John Killip, a Multiple Myeloma Journey Partner, puts it, “It was back into the patient, so the bone mar- er multiple myeloma patients is one of the highlights of mylife. I became the collected stem cells are transplanted row can produce new bloodcells. To help people learn more about the disease and its treatments, the Multiple Myeloma Journey Partners Program wascreated. This peer-to-peer education pro- gram for patients, caregivers and health care providersleveragesstorytelling as a tool to improve the patient experience. Journey Partners are multiple myeloma patients who have experienced similar conversations with my support group, family and health care providers that influenced my decision to have a stem cell transplant in 2008, when I was first diagnosed with multiple myeloma, at the age of 65. Mentoring oth- a Journey Partner to share my story and help others with the disease make sense of the diagnosis and overcome the fear of the unknown” Learn More For more information or to re- quest a program, you can visit www. mmjourneypartners.com. Anyone in- terested in becoming a Multiple My- eloma Journey Partner can contact living with the disease. A Multiple Myeloma Journey Partner will come to any the program coordinatorlisted on the website. The program is sponsored by Sanofi Genzyme, the specialty care global business unit of Sanofi focused would like to attend the free one-hour immunology, and oncology. emotions, faced the same challenges and asked the same questions about community in which 10 or more people on rare diseases, multiple sclerosis,
