It is amazing how God works in our lives. We believe we know what is best for us, what would fit into the plan for our lives. As the old saying goes, when you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans! In my last post, I told you about an upcoming meeting at MD Anderson where I would discuss clinical trials with my doctor. Here are the results of the meeting. My creatine levels improved, meaning my kidney function improved. Great, right? Well, while discussing clinical trials with my doctor, she told me of two trials where I would most likely qualify for participantion. One trial would use a ..read more

The struggles dealing with the unknown of a disease that moves at its own pace, never gives you any sign of progression, and does not care how you feel about waiting is, you are at the mercy of the disease, ever watchful for an ominous sign or random pain easily attributable to one of many causes. As I prepare for my trip to MD Anderson at the end of the month, I have spent time researching the latest treatment regimen for High Risk Smoldering Multiple Myeloma and the protocols surrounding treatment before patients progress to an active state. Search the Internet and you will find site after s ..read more

Should you ask for a second opinion on a Cancer diagnosis? Absolutely!! A bone marrow biopsy was part of the diagnostic process that led to my Smoldering Multiple Myeloma diagnosis. Fear fills the heart of the most manly man when someone tells him they are going to punch a hole in the back of your pelvis and get some of your bone marrow out. Doctors give you 2 options, mild sedation or local anesthetic. As this was the first time for me, I chose the sedation route so the appointment was set at the hospital for the last diagnostic test to validate progression of my disease. After our meeting wi ..read more

The journey to my current diagnosis traces back to July of 2017 when the first abnormal blood test appeared at a routine visit to my primary care physician (PCP). He takes a very hands-on approach, being very detail-oriented while managing my health (I have Type 2 Diabetes). He was concerned when he saw my Red Blood Cell (RBC) and Hemoglobin (HGB) counts lower than the expected reference range. During our discussion, the first thought was to look for internal bleeding so I was off to visit my Gastroenterologist for a Colonoscopy. Finding no bleeding, it was time to check the other direction an ..read more

Everyone knows the story line...an innocent person or someone important to the main character in a movie is somehow incapacitated and kidnapped by an evil (fill in the blank) and taken to a secret location. When she regains consciousness, she feels strange...something feels wrong...she begins to examine her body and finds a bloody bandage and a lump just under her skin right above her heart. She arises to begin assessing her surroundings, looking for a way out from wherever she is being held. At the corner of the room, she sees a door which she tries to open. To her surprise, it opens and she ..read more

I am just like you. I have a loving family, a career, and many hobbies that keep me busy. However, I also have something that you may just be finding out about yourself, you have cancer. Your visit here might be to look for hope, maybe inspiration to not give up, or how to cope with an unknown life after diagnosis. Either way, I hope you find my personal story and future posts helpful in some small way, perhaps you will share this site with your family or someone else going through our struggles. My name is Brad Hanson and I have Multiple Myeloma, but my cancer has not gone active, yet. Multip ..read more