Myeloma Crowd article: Weathering those panic attacks

 

I'm excited to be writing for the Myeloma Crowd (www.myelomacrowd.org)! Here's my first article. Enjoy!
 

Weathering those panic attacks

I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in January 2012. At the time, I didn’t even know what it was. When I first entered treatment, I was at clinic many times a week and everything freaked me out. Needles, meds, pill lists, procedures… All of it was so overwhelming. But I got used to it and soon, I was a pro. After tandem stem cell transplants and a great response, I’ve settled into my life in the Myeloma world. I can’t believe I’m writing this but here goes: Life isn’t so bad living with this disease. In fact, my “new normal” is quite nice most of the time.

That’s not to say there aren’t moments when I have the occasional panic attack. For me, it comes more from having such a normal life and every once in awhile I need to remind myself that I AM A CANCER SURVIVOR and just those words can scare me.

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