Advocating for yourself with multiple myeloma

Patient Valarie tells how important it is to get a second opinion for her journey for a multiple myeloma diagnosis.

Transcript

00:00

They told me that I was in danger of having a heart attack, and that I needed to be admitted to the hospital right away.

00:07

[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:13

I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in March of 2015. I asked about a second opinion.

00:20

You know, I was told, well, they're going to tell you the same thing. It just made me feel like, OK, does this person

00:26

have my best interest at heart? I took it upon myself to-- to go and get a second opinion at another facility that

00:36

specialized in cancer. When I went in, they told me that my hemoglobin was really low, extremely low, dangerously low.

00:44

They explained to me that process of every time you get chemo, they have to do blood work. And I said, well, that didn't happen.

00:52

Come to find out that's why I was feeling so bad. A lot of people don't understand what

00:58

advocating for yourself is. Advocating for yourself is learning to speak up, learning to have your voice heard.

01:06

Because your voice matters. [MUSIC PLAYING]