City hall lit up for Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on March 8, 2023.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman A small group of Myeloma support group members gather outside of city hall to celebrate the lightening of the building in the color red to bring awareness to the disease and to kick off the Myeloma awareness month.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

The City of Lethbridge helped celebrate nation-wide Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month by lighting up City Hall in bright red.

Lethbridge Myeloma support group leader, Brian Treadwell said it’s important to bring awareness to the disease, because awareness is key to recognizing it.

“Myeloma is the second-most common form of blood cancer, but sadly most people have never heard of it,” said Treadwell.

Every day, 11 Canadians are diagnosed with multiple myeloma and the number is rising steadily. Diagnosis is often long and difficult, and for countless Canadians, may take months, even years, cutting short too many lives.

“Because it’s so rare, most general practitioners really don’t get enough exposure to it, so it’s often overlooked when someone comes to them complaining of bone pain, anemia or they just feel fatigue. And sadly, when oncologists finally see somebody, they see them too late.”.

Treadwell said that’s why awareness is important, so people can get diagnosed earlier and they have the chance to start treatment before it’s too late.

According to Myeloma Canada, even though there is no cure, people with myeloma are living longer and better lives because of recent breakthroughs in treatment. But to find a cure, more funding and research are required. 

Tom Wosley, who joined a small Myeloma support group to witness the lighting of City Hall, said it felt great to see the building flooded in red.

“I’ve had multiple myeloma for over 10 years now, and it’s great to see this because I think it’s the first step towards awareness, which is one of the things that is most needed with myeloma,” said Wosley.

He said on average people usually have to make three visits to the doctors before a definite diagnosis is made, so awareness is important for early diagnosis.

“The earlier it’s diagnosed, the more likelihood of having a successful outcome. There is no cure for the disease yet, but there’s some good treatments.”

For more information on Myeloma, visit http://www.myeloma.ca

Follow @APulidoHerald on Twitter