Click on the photos to read inspiring stories from some of our members.
Finding courage and calm in the face of cancer’s uncertainty
As we know, every WMer is unique. Equally unique is the impact the disease has on their family and loved ones. In September, 2022, Maclean's published this look at two WM diagnoses, and the impact on their families. See https://www.macleans.ca/longforms/finding-courage-and-calm/.
The BC Support Group: Supporting One Another in So Many Ways
Our group started over fifty years ago! Well, not really, but... In 1966 I met Betty McPhee in Vancouver. Three years later she was married and living in Philadelphia. I was working on a medical team in West Africa. It was over forty years later when we met by accident [...]
Carol Joy Patterson: Spirit of Hope
Learning from a life "punctuated by a cascade of medical events", Carol advises that it is important to be a partner with your doctor. "It's not just about finding the right medicine; it's also about sustaining positive attitudes", she writes.
Stu Boland: A Positive Attitude and a Healthy Lifestyle
Stu relates his 18-year-and-counting journey with WM, and concludes: "Nothing is going to get in my way of striking things off my 'bucket list'".
Lucie Martineau: Journey to Stem Cell Transplant
After her difficult journey through and beyond a stem cell transplant, Lucie writes "one must sustain belief in oneself ... the body and the mind make up a wonderful machine ... listening to them can be most instructive".
Murray Shaw: Cancer is my Hobby
As Murray tells it, his WM "is fascinating, time-consuming and important to me, but, like all hobbies, should not become an obsession".
Betty McPhee: Providing Hope by Telling My Story
"I was at work when my doctor called me on my cell phone. I teach Deaf students, and I normally wouldn't answer the phone at school, but I happened to be on a spare. She told me that she thought I had Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia which is a rare blood [...]
Michael Knowlton: Videos of Inspiration, Videos of Truth
An update from Michael Knowlton. He has recently (Dec., 2021) published two new videos: You Can't Have the Highs Without the Lows, and Navigating The Journey Of Illness. Check out his entire series, documenting his journey with WM, his sources of inspiration, and the truths he lives with: "We [...]
Raffaela Mercurio: Choose Hope!!
Raffela urges us to Choose Hope, and reminds us that we can each make a difference.
Ron Ternoway: Trials of a Wallie
Ron's story, in slides, takes him through several treatments to a clinical trial that finally provided a measure of long-term success.
