The Walker County Board of Commissioners presented Sheriff Steve Wilson with a copy of a proclamation declaring March as Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month. From left: Commissioner Robert Blakemore, Commissioner Mark Askew, Commissioner Chairman Shannon Whitfield, Sheriff Steve Wilson, Commissioner Brian Hart, Commissioner Robert Stultz.
The Walker County Board of Commissioners presented Sheriff Steve Wilson with a copy of a proclamation declaring March as Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month. From left: Commissioner Robert Blakemore, Commissioner Mark Askew, Commissioner Chairman Shannon Whitfield, Sheriff Steve Wilson, Commissioner Brian Hart, Commissioner Robert Stultz.
About multiple myeloma A cancer of bone marrow plasma Life expectancy is low — four to six years. Second most common blood cancer Most common signs: bone or back pain, fatigue, recurrent or persistent infections Twice as common in African Americans than in other races More common in men than women Lifetime chance of getting multiple myeloma: 1 in 132 (0.76%) 35,730 new cases expected in 2023 Treatment options vary greatly and can include chemotherapy, stem cell transplants and immunotherapy More information: https://themmrf.org
The Walker County commissioners declared March as Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month at their March 9 meeting, as they’ve done each March for five years. They presented Sheriff Steve Wilson, who has the condition, with a copy of the proclamation.
Wilson was diagnosed with the condition in 2009. He was having some pain, he said, in his side and assumed he’d pulled a muscle. But the pain persisted, so he went to a doctor.
Wilson actually had some broken ribs for no apparent reason. His doctor sent him for more tests, starting with a PET scan and an MRI. From there, doctors felt a bone marrow biopsy was in order.
Multiple myeloma is a relatively rare disease — a cancer of bone marrow plasma cells. Wilson says his diagnosis was naturally devastating at first, especially because average life expectancy for someone with the condition is about three to five years.
“I was 51 at the time,” says Wilson. “I had no grandchildren. I wanted to live to see grandchildren and to walk my daughter down the aisle.”
To add to the strain, Wilson’s father was going through colon cancer treatments and Wilson was helping him.
Wilson’s treatment started with five months of chemotherapy. From there, he headed to Atlanta and underwent a stem cell transplant.
“The first week,” says Wilson, “they harvested stem cells from me and froze them.”
After that, doctors gave him a large dose of a strong chemo drug that wiped out his white blood cells. Next, the stem cells were injected back into him. Wilson says he spent 40 days in Atlanta, partly as an inpatient and partly as an outpatient. He was out of work for just eight to nine weeks.
“I’ve been very blessed,” says Wilson. “So many people were praying for me and some conducted fundraisers to help. I haven’t needed any further treatments and I haven‘t missed anymore work due to multiple myeloma.”
And best of all, says Wilson, “I now have three grandchildren and a year and a half ago I walked my daughter down the aisle.”
Wilson says he makes himself available to talk with anyone else suffering from multiple myeloma. Talking and having the support of others who can understand, he says, is very important. He can be reached through the Walker County Sheriff’s Office.
Tamara Wolk is a reporter for The Catoosa County News in Ringgold, Ga., and Walker County Messenger in LaFayette, Ga.
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