What Does "Healthy" Look Like with Multiple Myeloma?

It can be a bit unclear what "healthy" is supposed to look like when you are diagnosed with multiple myeloma. The appearance of the disease can vary: you may find someone who does not look sick, or someone who appears visibly ill. With that said, should we judge this book by its cover?

Navigating the burden of an invisible condition

Having an invisible condition is not easy at first. It can take a lot of trial and error, along with explaining to outsiders that you’re sick. It can be a frustrating experience when you do not look "the part" but are trying to explain your case. I mean, why do we have to explain so much in the first place? Why is it assumed we all have to look a certain way? We have enough on our minds.

It’s hard to say what healthy looks like because the conversation holds a few complexities. You may respond well to the treatment regimen while making some positive progress in bringing those protein numbers down. However, our friend “fatigue” can still put you in a box of inactivity.

You may be fortunate enough to reach remission, but your body took a toll while fighting your cancer previously. Are you now deemed healthy? We assume being healthy has a certain look, but actually, it both does and does not. It can make a huge difference in how you perceive your cancer. Plus how you want to tackle doing what’s right in the situation or doing what is manageable.

How to find your own path to wellness

Treatment can be rough. So health and wellness can be a mixture of doing things that make you feel better when managing myeloma and treatment. Unfortunately, not all doctors are going to provide you with the script of how to get there. It will indeed, for many, seem like a trial-and-error process. I found that I had more questions than answers while processing everything.

So, what can wellness look like for the many newly diagnosed and for those who are seasoned patients? Let’s delve into a few suggestions:

Prioritizing your mental health

It takes a strong person to go through cancer, but does it matter if you’re strong or not? Considering what is in front of us, it will take a lot of mental management to handle all that is expected of us. Try and remember to take this all in increments. If certain elements increase your stress, it’s okay to manage with "time-outs" until you’re ready to be bothered again.

Taking a look at the foods we eat

It may be time to review the foods that make this new journey extra taxing. It may be time to reevaluate our connection with food, how we feel after consumption, and whether that is the way we want to feel.

Embracing a holistic approach

Perhaps wellness is simply giving back to a discouraged body that’s figuring it all out, along with meds to manage the disease. The walk with wellness can be as simple as mindfulness breaks, light massage, or tolerated exercise.

What does wellness look like for you?

The time to fight is now, with integrity, grace, hope, and a smile… when you feel like it.