Have an action plan.
“You may need plan A, and in some cases plan B or C. But however, much hope you have, and however well-executed your plan is, you will still need something else,” he suggests.
“I had a great teacher in my father, who showed me how to fight for one’s life,” Biru said of the example set by his father. “I was born in Ethiopia, which is a culturally rich but economically poor country. In the 1970s, my dad was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and getting proper healthcare in Ethiopia at that time was not easy. My dad was told he had a 10% chance of surviving tuberculosis, to which he responded, ‘Oh, that’s not zero.’ So he ‘fought like hell,’ and he survived tuberculosis and lived a full life with the motto, ‘Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you.’”
Build a support system.
“Living with multiple myeloma, I know that the disease will most certainly relapse; falling down is almost certain, side effects are almost always certain,” said Biru, admitting that it took some time to learn that he didn’t have to fight his battle alone. Instead, he built a team to which he leaned on when the going got tough.
“For my team to work together, for me to communicate what my preferences are, what my choices are, what my quality-of-life requirements are, I need to educate myself. This shared decision-making model not only maximizes the disease outcome, it also maximizes the quality of life and minimizes treatment side effects.”
Be mindful that a diagnosis is life changing but doesn’t have to rule your life.
“Once you have multiple myeloma, you have it for life, and your life will change forever,” said Biru. Adding that, “with recent advancements in the treatment of multiple myeloma, having multiple myeloma is no longer an immediate death sentence.”
The biggest takeaway:
“We are all in this together, so we need to actively participate in our own care, but as importantly pay it forward and advocate for others.”
WATCH: African Americans & Multiple Myeloma with Dr. Craig Cole