My name is Matthew Shaw. I’m a 36-year-old father of 2, a husband, an IT support specialist/manager, and a friend to everyone I can be. I was also recently diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. I am asking for help so I can continue being so many different things to so many people, but most importantly, I want to continue my life with my family and watching my kids be able to grow into the wonderful adults I know they’ll be. To get there, I need help.
I was laid off from my job at the end of January, and thanks to a very tough job market, I am currently in a short-term contract job that I might not be able to continue working at consistently once I start treatment.
Over the last 9-12 months, my family and I haven’t had the greatest of years. During a routine blood test, my kidney values were out of whack, so I got to start down that journey, eventually finding out that I am stage 3B for chronic kidney disease. Luckily, so far that has been pretty stable.
Around the same time, I was having chest pains which led to having my gallbladder removed. In the pathology report, they noted that there was Amyloid located in the gallbladder, which in itself is very rare. Normally, when proteins are folded correctly, they just slide off your organs and go where they’re supposed to. Once they misfold, they turn into Amyloid and generally collect on multiple organs and, if left untreated, can lead to organ failure. In my case, I’m currently looking at kidneys and heart. At that point, I was recommended to an oncologist since they typically end up working with Amyloid more often.
From diagnosing the issue with an oncologist through a variety of blood draws, different scans, and one bone marrow biopsy so far, I have been diagnosed with multiple myeloma with an incidental finding of “B-Cell lymphocytosis,” which means while I haven’t developed it yet, I could also develop a form of leukemia.
I’m still waiting on full details for a treatment plan, but what I’ve been told is to expect about 3-4 rounds of cancer treatment, followed by around 3-4 weeks in the hospital for a bone marrow transplant. During that time, my immune system will be completely removed and rebuilt, so I will only be able to spend limited time with my friends and family.
Normally, I’m used to being the one to help others, so it feels strange asking for help, but I think this is one of the few times in my life that I don’t have many other choices. Anything you can provide will help with meals, transportation costs, living expenses, and most importantly, helping to keep my wife’s sanity while I’m going through treatment. The only other thing I can say is thank you for supporting me and my family.
