As I was growing up, some family members and people close to me were diagnosed with cancer. I learned quickly how important it is to have a good support network when dealing with such an involved diagnosis. One of these families lived by the “life is a team sport” motto, and I find it often on my mind lately as I think of this upcoming hike with the Mt. Washington Moving Mountains for Multiple Myeloma team.

The experiences I had as a teen and young adult, seeing people close to me dealing with cancer, motivated me to become an oncology nurse practitioner. As I worked towards this goal, I realized that I was specifically drawn to multiple myeloma as a subspecialty that could be a good fit for me. I enjoyed building a rapport with patients and taking care of them over a continuum of time, supporting their many different needs along the way. (Shout out to all of the new developments over the last 10 years in this field that has allowed these patients to live longer and longer).

I work with patients that have multiple myeloma and amyloidosis. Many people diagnosed with multiple myeloma have bone disease that limits their mobility and often prevents them from doing the activities that they love or have enjoyed for their entire lives. This is also true of our patients with amyloidosis; they quickly go from being very active, to not being able to do much activity because the disease affects their organs. It makes me often think to myself that I have this ability to be able to go out and exercise and do things outdoors everyday, right now, and that I shouldn't waste that opportunity. If I could take that opportunity and potentially help other people by doing it, what could be better? I’ve always loved hiking, so being able to be part of this team is truly such an honor.

There's something really special about being part of a common goal. When things get hard at any point in life, the support around you can really lift you up. Whether it’s a team playing a sport, a group of people in a class at the gym, work colleagues working on a project, or a fundraising team, working towards a goal with others is empowering. This team of hikers, all with a connection to multiple myeloma, is working together to fundraise, train, travel and hike up Mt Washington to support the goal of raising awareness of myeloma and funding research to prevent, diagnose and treat myeloma. Together, we support each other with encouragement to reach the top and, together, understand the difficulty along the way. We will share in celebration of accomplishing our incremental growth towards the larger goal of finding a cure.

Receiving a diagnosis of multiple myeloma, at this point in time, is a lifelong disease burden to carry as there is no cure. I'm really hopeful that we may eventually see this disease be cured, and I'm really grateful for this unique opportunity to be contributing to that research. Life really is a team sport.