I am contacting you about a proclamation that [was] presented to our group March 20 by Mayor Clifton and the Fayetteville City Council. This proclamation [also declared] March as Myeloma Awareness Month.
I am a member of the Southside Myeloma Support Group led by Mrs. Doris Morgan, founder. Additionally, we work closely with the Emory Winship Cancer Institute, which serves over 1,000 myeloma patients.
We appreciate the mayor’s help in raising awareness of myeloma, also called multiple myeloma.
Myeloma currently affects more than 100,000 people in the United States, with an estimated 20,000 new cases diagnosed each year.
Once a disease of the elderly, myeloma is increasing in numbers and is becoming more common in younger patients, with possible links to environmental toxins. Some common symptoms are bone pain, anemia, kidney issues, frequent infection and extreme fatigue.
Despite these facts, a majority of patients have never heard of it before their diagnosis.
The need to raise awareness for this often-misdiagnosed disease led the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) to establish March as Myeloma Awareness Month.
Alma Robinson
Southside Multiple Myeloma Support Group
Fayetteville, Ga.
