Tee Talks Myeloma Articles
I Remember When I Had to Find Myself Again
I remember when I was going through this
and did not always recognize myself
But I learned
I am still me
even here
When Illness Becomes Identity… and Then Becomes Purpose
At one point, being a patient felt like all I was.
But I learned I am still me, even in this journey.
What once felt heavy
now carries purpose.
CRAB. Is It Seafood or a Medical Term?
March is Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month, and it always reminds me how important it is to talk about the signs our bodies give us. When I first heard the term CRAB, I wondered if we were talking about seafood or something medical. In the myeloma world, CRAB represents key symptoms of the disease. In my own journey, bone damage and anemia were some of the ways my body was trying to tell me something was wrong. This is why awareness matters. Sometimes our bodies speak long before we understand what they are saying.
The Sweetest Gift During Cancer: A Daily Prayer Card
When I told my best friend I had cancer, neither of us knew what the next two and a half years would look like. She traveled constantly for work, but she refused to let distance stop her from showing up for me.
So every single day she mailed me a small 3×4 prayer card.
Those tiny cards became a lifeline during treatment. I read them before procedures, during difficult moments, and sometimes shared them with other patients in the treatment room who needed encouragement too. What started as a simple gesture from a friend became a powerful reminder that hope can arrive in the smallest packages.
To My Treatment Self
Rest is part of treatment. My labs do not define me. These are the quiet reminders I write to myself during treatment, truths I return to when the journey feels heavy.
An open letter to my newly diagnosed self.
Almost nine years ago, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. This open letter is to the woman I was that day, scared, overwhelmed, and unaware of the strength she was about to discover.
My Love Story: How He Has Stuck By Me Through Thick and Thin
CC was sent to me by an angel, and no one could ever convince me otherwise. It wasn’t love at first sight, but something much more beautiful blossomed in our life together. It took me a long time to begin liking him. But the love that continues to grow between us is...
The Journey to a Big C Diagnosis
My life changed forever in August 2017 when I was diagnosed with the Big C. But the journey to my diagnosis with Multiple Myeloma was a very difficult one. My husband, Cavanagh, and I were taking a trip to visit family in South Carolina. When we left Texas,...
Getting the Support I Needed
My husband is my biggest supporter. Whatever has come out of the oven, he has eaten it, whether it was a bomb or not. He encouraged me to cook because he knew many days I was too sad to function. After all, I was sorely missing my active and busy working life. He...
Cooking My Way Through Cancer
After my cancer diagnosis, I could no longer go to work. But I still had so much energy. From having had an active and involved life, remaining in bed for extended periods was hard, and I needed to find an outlet. There were too many emotions swirling in me that I...
Please Stay Away, Your Sick
Isolation was something I was not expecting to accompany a cancer diagnosis. My immune system is non-existent from cancer and cancer treatment. With a shot immune system, I had to tell so many people to "STAY AWAY if you're sick!" I can't put myself at more risk by...
The Bed Days
After the official diagnosis, I descended into mourning for the life I had lived before. But also, for the life I had envisioned for myself in the future. It's a long and grueling process. Before my cancer diagnosis, I was a principal who had been very involved and...
The Start of My Acceptance Cycle
My acceptance cycle started with the words "You have cancer." Those words sent me into days upon days of grieving and crying. I didn't hear a single thing after those three life-altering words because my mind went straight to "How long do I have to live?" My old way...
“Uncle” – Telling Him Was the Hardest
When you're going through a difficult time in your life, finding people who lift you up and support you in the good and the bad times is a blessing. Being able to rely on those few people in your life makes some of those hard moments in life easier to bear. And then...