We Did It Together as a Family (with Kim Young)

06/15/21 • 101 min

Our guest on today’s episode is Kimberly Young, who led the team of her siblings and family members to support her mother’s journey with multiple myeloma. We talk about her mother’s diagnosis journey and faith works in tandem with the process. What most moved me about Kim’s story is the love and closeness of her family, which only amplified as they navigated a time of crisis.

Kim works for one of the biggest health insurance companies in the United States, so she shares her perspective on navigating the health insurance process and finding organizations offering financial resources and social support that insurance can’t fully cover. To honor her mother’s legacy, Kim continues to work as a cancer advocate in faith-based organizations.

This will be the first of two episodes this season focused on multiple myeloma. Thank you to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for your sponsorship and support of this special series.

More about LLS + Multiple Myeloma:

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society website: https://www.lls.org/
Myeloma Link: https://www.lls.org/myeloma-link

Black Americans have twice the incidence of myeloma as white Americans. What’s more, recent studies show that Black Americans are significantly less likely to receive the latest treatments, and are more likely to experience treatment delays. As a champion for myeloma patients, caregivers, survivors, and families, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is determined to change this. We believe every patient deserves to receive the best care and support possible while we work tirelessly toward cures.

LLS is dedicated to helping Black Americans with myeloma access the treatment and care they need to survive and thrive and improving quality of life. We provide trusted, free tools and resources to help patients and caregivers navigate the treatment landscape more effectively and cope with the disease.

Listen to more stories on caregiving on the Black Cancer podcast:

Season 2, Episode 1: The Greatest Ode to Her Sacrifice (with Janice Omadeke) : https://open.spotify.com/episode/377su9gQwDiDbJAbFAjskI?si=9a8291dfec3b45ca
Season 1, Episode 6: She Wasn’t By Herself (with Erin Douglas): https://open.spotify.com/episode/0CuEtlFs5VX1Pf7kFwBjZL?si=fe82897ec0af4d21
Season 1, Episode 7: The Malignancy of Both (Frantz Berthaud): https://open.spotify.com/episode/08yMuEXQdpYU5HzzSn18bW?si=cc6e96e58cf64c95

This will be the first of two episodes this season focused on multiple myeloma. Thank you to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for your sponsorship and support of this special series.

More about LLS + Multiple Myeloma:

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society website: https://www.lls.org/
Myeloma Link: https://www.lls.org/myeloma-link

Listen to more stories on caregiving on the Black Cancer podcast:

Season 2, Episode 1: The Greatest Ode to Her Sacrifice (with Janice Omadeke) : https://open.spotify.com/episode/377su9gQwDiDbJAbFAjskI?si=9a8291dfec3b45ca
Season 1, Episode 6: She Wasn’t By Herself (with Erin Douglas): https://open.spotify.com/episode/0CuEtlFs5VX1Pf7kFwBjZL?si=fe82897ec0af4d21
Season 1, Episode 7: The Malignancy of Both (Frantz Berthaud): https://open.spotify.com/episode/08yMuEXQdpYU5HzzSn18bW?si=cc6e96e58cf64c95

Previous Episode

It's Not Enough to Say We Survived (with Darcie Green)

Our guest on today’s episode is Darcie Green, who brings multiple identities to our conversation today. She’s the daughter of a survivor, care giver, advocate, activist and the Executive Director of Latinas Contra Cancer. Latinas Contra Cancer is an organization with a mission to create an inclusive health care system that provides services to the underserved Latino population around issues of breast and other cancers. She’s incredibly smart, so funny, and we had A LOT to talk about. This is the last episode of Season 2 of Black Cancer, and it exemplifies everything we’ve talked about on this platform AND more - more like understanding cancer through a social justice lens, examining the disproportionate philanthropic funding for organizations led by people of color and what our communities STILL do despite structural under-resourcing that determines our health.

P.S. This episode aired the day the United States surpassed 500,000 COVID-19 deaths - half a million people. Disproportionately Black and Brown people. The racial inequities of the life-saving vaccine roll out was absolutely top of our minds - which is why this conversation started A BIT before I even had my microphone set up for our recording! hahaha. You won’t want to miss a single moment of this episode. It’s truly a master class in understanding so many dynamics of cancer care - and what we can learn about the interconnectedness of what care can look like for all our people. And as always, check out the show notes for links to what we talked about.

Here’s my conversation with Darcie:

Darcie shares about how her father's journey grounded her work in community health advocacy (47:51)
The strengths and expertise in self and communal advocacy already held in our communities (1:12:00)
Disproportionality in funding and support for organizations led by and that serve communities of color (1:36:53)

Next Episode

I Don't Have Any Limitations (with Kelvin Yates)

Our guest on today’s episode is Kelvin Yates, who uses his experiences living with multiple myeloma to advocate for change in his community. He’s a father, husband, son, hobby woodworker, and a survivor — and surviving in ways that continues to make a big impact on me.

Of all the people I’ve met through this podcast, Kelvin was the first person who also heard the word “PARALYSIS” when he found out about his condition and faces the ongoing neuropathy. And for those who face neuropathy or loves someone with neuropathy, I have somethihng special for you. So much so that for the first time in Black Cancer history, I’m putting out a featurette later this week, where Kelvin and I just talk about neuropathy. So stay tuned for that!

On this episode, Kelvin shares more about his diagnosis path and how he found inspiration in his own story to grow in his advocacy. Today is our second and final episode this season that highlights multiple myeloma. Thank you to the Leukemia & Lymphomas Society for making these past two episodes possible and for all the work you do to support individuals and families navigating multiple myeloma. You can learn more at lls.org/myeloma-link.