Hope

 Believe, Expect, Trust, Dream, Have Faith, Be Optimistic

 About a month before I was to begin the stem cell transplant process, I was shopping with my daughter when this mug caught my eye.  I was drawn to its shape and the intricate red design. Red being my favorite color, I couldn’t resist picking it up for a closer look.  As I turned it in my hands and saw the word “Hope” written  in beautiful script, I knew I had to have it.  It almost felt like it had been placed there for me to find and to inspire me to embrace hope as I began my long trek through a stem cell transplant.  

Hope is part of the human condition.  We hope for peace, better weather, to lose weight, to get a promotion, to be happy, our children to be happy,  to have a nice home, to travel  to far off places, to have a successful career . . . the list could go on without end.  Hoping to be healthy and live a long life are hopes that we all aspire to, but when we are healthy we often tend to take it for granted.   I know I did.

A multiple myeloma diagnosis changes everything, but it doesn’t mean you give up hope. Hope helps supply the energy needed  to face the battles ahead. Hope can’t take the place of actively fighting the disease through medical treatments and procedures, but it feeds the soul on a spiritual level that adds a sense of calm to chaotic emotions.

There always must be hope for better treatments and even a cure for multiple myeloma.  At a seminar  in November 2011 at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center  in Seattle, Dr. Bill Bensinger said he has never been more hopeful about  multiple myeloma.  With all the research being done and the number of drugs in the pipeline for multiple myeloma, there is hope.

My beautiful red "Hope" mug moved with me to Seattle for my transplant and to this day it is my mug of choice as I enjoy my morning coffee, but more importantly, it is a constant reminder to never give up hope.