Thank you for taking the time to read Roisin story.

Running Paris for Roisin is more than just finding a cure for myeloma - it’s running for all the myeloma patients who endure their condition everyday.

My name is Charlotte I’m running the Paris half marathon in March 2026 for my incredibly resilient and charismatic mum Roisin. I will also be walking the wall of China for 9 days in October 2026 to raise funds for myeloma uk in aid of finding a cure and to create symptom awareness!

Myeloma is a type of blood/ bone marrow cancer. Plasma cells are produced in the bone marrow. When you have myeloma the body produces too many cancerous plasma cells and they need to be controlled by chemotherapy drugs and immunotherapy.

Currently there is no cure for myeloma. New research and cure development is in the process everyday. Recognising symptoms and providing treatment early can result in manageable remission to control the plasma cells. Myeloma can cause the bones to become very brittle and result in fractures that are not caused by trauma.

Before mum was diagnosed she worked in healthcare for many years within the elderly care sector. She enhanced the lives of many every day within her role as activity coordinator and wellbeing lead in residential homes. She has enhanced the lives of many within her career, supporting her local community and always very selfless within her period of service.

(This is mum when she was fit and well in January 2023)

In December 2023 mum was struggling with hip pain and general back pain with severe fatigue. After multiple trips to the doctors being told it was a kidney infection, rheumatoid arthritis or old age as a healthy 68 year old working 3 -4 days a week driving and living a normal active life.

Mum’s mobility declined rapidly over January and February of 2024. It got to the point were mum could not even get out of bed without assistance of my brother and my self due to how weak she was and the pain was unbearable.

I’m a nurse, I called an ambulance and she was taken in to a and e immediately.

This was the second time mum had been in hospital in two weeks the hip X-ray showing no fractures from a previous admission. Once we arrived at the hospital for the second time in the same week I strongly advocated that the orthopaedic team requested an urgent MRI scan as I was very concerned that mum might have spinal fractures or bone metastases.

The MRI came back with four spinal fractures, other parts of the spine crumbing and a myeloma lesion. Words cannot describe how devastating we all felt for mum that day the 15th of March 2024 at 14.36 I will always remember it. The shock continued for at least two weeks we lived at the hospital. Me, My brother Rory, Rory’s fiancé Jasmine, my cousin Suzanne and my best friend Dr Kritika were by mum’s side every step of the way. While we sat in front of an extraordinary haematologist who gave us hope that mum had a high success rate of survival and would likely reach manageable remission. Roisin had a big decision to make with treatment. The first option came with a risk of 1/100 fatality which was a bone cell transplant. This was a concern if mum would be well enough to go through with this due to how quickly the myeloma was progressing and destroying her spine she was incredibly weak. The second option was a new treatment which at the time had only been released within the last 18 months. This treatment involved chemotherapy and immunotherapy weekly with just as much of a success rate as option one.

Before mum started treatment their face started to swell. At first the medical team thought it was anaphylaxis until we spoke to haematology and they Informed us this was due to the cells being out of control and we needed to start treatment urgently.

Treatment began with 6 months of hospital admissions with 5/6 days here or there of being discharged from hospital. 2 months of an admission was Roisin’s longest stay while having weekly treatment, learning to walk again with a zimmer frame, severe side effects, nausea and vomiting in to the late hours of the night, leg swelling up to her thighs , losing teeth due to certain drugs making the jaw soft and going from 5ft 11 to 5ft 2 due to the vertebrae collapsing and causing fractures - the list goes on. Multiple myeloma comes with multiple problems.

After months of visiting the Macmillan Renton unit, coffee in the chemo suite and meeting all different walks of life seeing through the window of other cancer patient’s Journey’s - it’s like both patient and relatives become part of a group that you never want or plan to be a part of. Until you realise this group instil the importance of the “now” and shows you an insign in to what really matters in this life - health is wealth and your sense of humour is your life boat. Sitting in that unit talking to other myeloma patients and being on this journal with mum has humbled me and provided insight into the hardship these amazing people have to cope with on a daily basis on top of all the rest of life’s ups and downs. I’m not a runner. But if these people can go through this struggle mentally and physically on a daily basis - running a half marathon does not even compare to the hardship, pain and anxiety of a myeloma diagnosis.

One year on Roisin is doing incredible - she is now walking with a stick. She’s reached manageable remission. She attends monthly immunotherapy and daily chemotherapy drugs to keep the myeloma under control. Carers still support three times a day as mum struggle to bend down/ lift heavy items due to the damage to her spine and risk of fractures. Roisin has not been in hospital for a long stay admission since December 2024. This is all thanks to the dedicated Macmillan renton unit in Hereford. Most importantly the treatment that was trialled, tested and funded through myeloma uk gave Roisin the chance to live and have a quality of life back.

As there is still no cure for myeloma there is every possibility of relapsing at some point but for now Roisin is living as best she can with her current treatment.

Words cannot describe how beyond grateful and blessed we are to have our mum with us here today.

We have been supported by some truly amazing people who have shown us such kindness and compassion. Our Family ❤️cousin Suzanne ❤️ Kritika ❤️friends, the haematology consultants Dr Ravi and Dr Jacks, the haematology nurses and the Macmillan Renton unit - Dr Chandra, my colleagues/ friends at Hereford hospital we are beyond grateful for your kindness to Roisin and our family.

It’s now time for us to give something back to raise money for those who are still fighting the fight - creating awareness for those who don’t know and working towards a shared vision which is a curable treatment.

Thank you for your very generous donations and your endless support.

Lots of love and hugs

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