Today I sat with a simple truth that felt anything but simple.

You are original.
And that cannot be replaced.

I had to let that settle in my spirit for a minute.

Because if I am being honest, multiple myeloma has tried me in ways I never expected. Not just physically, but emotionally and mentally too. There were moments when I did not feel like myself at all. I felt like someone navigating lab results, treatment plans, fatigue, and questions that did not always have clear answers.

Living with a blood cancer like multiple myeloma changes your awareness of your body. You start paying attention in a different way. Every ache, every moment of exhaustion, every appointment carries weight.

And somewhere in all of that, I found myself asking

Am I still the same woman
Do I still carry the same purpose
Or has this diagnosis changed me completely

Multiple myeloma may live in my body, but it does not get to define who I am.

And that truth did not come easy.

Because there are real days in this journey. Days when the fatigue is heavy. Days when the appointments feel endless. Days when you are processing what it means to live with something that does not just go away.

Multiple myeloma is a lifelong journey for many of us. It requires ongoing care, monitoring, and strength in ways people do not always see. And as a Black woman, I carry the awareness that we are impacted at higher rates, yet often face delays in diagnosis or not being heard the way we should.

That is a lot to hold.

But even in that reality, I had to come back to myself.

I am still me

Not the same version
But still whole
Still worthy
Still original

There is no one else navigating multiple myeloma the way I am. Not with my mindset, my faith, my questions, my strength. That means my experience matters.

I had to stop comparing my journey to what I see from others. Because healing through myeloma is not something you perform. It is something you live through, one day at a time.

Some days that looks like strength
Some days that looks like rest
Some days that looks like simply getting through

And all of it counts

What I am learning is that I cannot afford to lose myself while managing this disease. My responsibility is to care for my body, advocate for my health, ask questions, and still protect who I am at my core.

I am still learning how to balance that.

There are days I feel strong and clear
There are days I feel uncertain

But even on those uncertain days, I remind myself

I am still here
I still have purpose
I still have a voice

And that voice matters, especially in a space where more awareness is needed for people who look like me.

Multiple myeloma did not erase me. It revealed me.

It revealed a strength I did not fully understand before. A resilience that shows up even when I am tired. A voice that refuses to stay quiet.

So today, I am choosing to hold onto this truth a little tighter

I am original
My story matters
And multiple myeloma does not get to replace who I am

If you are reading this and walking your own myeloma journey, or supporting someone who is, I want you to sit with this too

You are still you

Even with the appointments
Even with the treatments
Even with the uncertainty

You are not replaced

You are evolving

And there is power in that