“RUN YOUR OWN RACE,” a friend once told Gary Lambert, an adage he repeated over and over as searing pain shot through his hips and legs during a 100-mile bicycle race in April 2014. The probation officer from Philadelphia pushed to finish the event, but the discomfort persisted.
Lambert thought he had overtrained or overexerted himself or perhaps a disk had herniated. But after resting and months of physical therapy, the pain was worse. Six months after the race, the once-formidable athlete was walking with a cane. On Dec. 10, 2014, after a battery of tests and just a day shy of his 38th birthday, Lambert found out he had multiple myeloma, an uncommon and incurable form of blood cancer.
Bone pain is a common symptom of multiple myeloma, a disease that attacks white blood cells in bone marrow—the soft, spongy tissue at the center of bones. The rapid growth of cancer cells destroys the bone marrow, causing soft spots to form—especially inside the bones of the spine, pelvis and rib cage. These bone lesions are painful and can weaken the bone, often leading to fractures.
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