MACON, Ga. — After a stem cell transplant, three chemotherapy shots once a week, and chemo pills, a Macon grandmother is getting a quick break from her new normal.
"You still get the same weakness and sickness from it," says Macon grandmother Pamela Thompson.
Thompson will start treatments again soon to slow down the growth of her stage two out of three multiple myeloma cancer. It's a type of cancer that causes a group of plasma cells to multiply. It can damage bones, the immune system, and the kidneys and hurt your red blood cell count. Thompson says she still thinks about what could have been if her cancer was found earlier.
"I think if they would have caught it earlier, it would have been easier for them to slow the growth down," explained Thompson.
According to the American Cancer Society, new diagnoses of 6 cancers in the U.S. fell in 2020, which marked the same year as the international pandemic.
Pathology reports also declined in 2020, indicating fewer people getting cancer screenings and other cancer-related procedures.
Thompson says the quicker the cancers are found, the better.
"It's worse in the later stages," says Thompson.
The study suggests that the cancers were not being diagnosed earlier because of the pandemic's impact on medical care. Thompson urges you to get screened regularly. She still is dealing with the side effects of chemo but still is looking at the silver lining.
"Even on my worse days, it's a good day. I'm alive," says Thompson.