Myeloma Patient Stories

Patient stories about Myeloma

February 23, 2024

UAMS Myeloma Patient Grateful for ‘Life Changing’ Treatment

Nathan Tidwell

Jim and Laurie Schepers.

Jim Schepers remembers getting a call he didn’t want in April 2020. The call was from Frits van Rhee, M.D., Ph.D., clinical director of the Myeloma Center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and Schepers’ physician — cancer had returned. “When we found out the cancer was back, Dr. van Rhee called…


December 15, 2023

Retired Attorney Writes Book about Myeloma Journey, Exceptional Care

Nathan Tidwell

Retired attorney James Jaquess

Retired attorney James Jaquess can’t say enough about the care he received at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Myeloma Center. In fact, UAMS features prominently in his book “Multiple Myeloma: A Journey to Remission.” Jaquess is being treated at UAMS as well as at the Emerald Coast Cancer Center in Fort Walton…


Former Pediatrician Feels ‘Wonderful’ a Year and a Half after CAR T-cell Therapy at UAMS

Linda Satter

Wendy Bowen was just 38 years old and in her fourth year of working as a pediatrician in Jackson, Tennessee, when severe chronic fatigue forced her to retire in March 2003. She had been diagnosed six months earlier with multiple sclerosis (MS), and it seemed to be rapidly taking its toll. Then one morning about…


January 11, 2023

Denver Broncos Defensive Tackle D.J. Jones Highlights UAMS Myeloma Center in My Cause, My Cleats Campaign

Marty Trieschmann

A professional football player with the Denver Broncos team stands with his mother and two nurses

As part of the National Football League’s (NFL) annual My Cause, My Cleats campaign, Denver Broncos defensive tackle D.J. Jones donated a pair of custom cleats to the Myeloma Center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. Since 2016, participating NFL teams and players customize footwear with designs…


June 17, 2022

Myeloma Patient Celebrates Full Remission by Walking Daughter Down the Aisle

Linda Haymes

“I was very pleased to be able to offer Dave this novel immunotherapy, which takes the patient’s own immune cells and genetically re-programs the cells to attack the myeloma,” Puente's doctor Frits van Rhee said. “I am very excited that Dave tolerated the treatment well and that he has had an excellent response to it.”

Dave Puente of Elk Grove California, the first myeloma patient in Arkansas to receive the new chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) last November, recently saw a very personal goal he’d set for himself become a reality. Late last year, during an interview for an article…


January 13, 2022

First Myeloma Center Patient Receives Revolutionary New Therapy, Responds Well

Linda Haymes

Dave and Lori Puente of Elk Grove, California. Dave Puente is the first myeloma patient in Arkansas to receive new chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy treatment, which is only available at the UAMS Myeloma Center in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

Dave Puente of Elk Grove, California, became the first myeloma patient in Arkansas to receive the new chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Myeloma Center, the only medical facility in Arkansas currently offering the cutting-edge treatment.


April 23, 2021

Twist of fate Leads to Myeloma Diagnosis for Longtime Survivor

Linda Haymes

“I am blessed to live so close to the Myeloma Center,” said Bennie Utley, 79, of Cabot, a myeloma survivor of 16 years. “It really is a state-of the-art facility.”

A persistent sore spot on his thigh led Bennie Utley of Cabot to ask his family doctor about it in early 2005. “It was about four inches wide and eight or 10 inches long,” Utley, 79, recalled. “He told me I was wearing my belt too tight.” Utley was not satisfied with the diagnosis and…


March 22, 2021

Friends Travel Miles, Bring Smiles as Myeloma Patient Begins Treatment

Linda Haymes

Friends of myeloma patient Christie Mink, 51, of Jonesboro traveled to UAMS in Little Rock to welcome her and her husband Jeffery in an emotional display of support.

On her first day of treatment at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Myeloma Center, Christie Mink returned from a lunch break with husband Jeffery to find one sweet treat awaiting her just outside the doors of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. Eight friends, all wearing black T-shirts emblazoned with “Her fight…


February 8, 2021

Husband and Wife Unite in Battling Myeloma

Linda Haymes

“We have been well taken care of at UAMS,” said Jerilee Gott of Sherwood, Arkansas who is a myeloma survivor along with her husband Ken. “The staff has been outstanding, and we feel we are in very good hands. Our future is very encouraging with the treatment options available for those who go into remission.”

When Jerilee and Ken Gott moved to Arkansas from New Mexico in late 2017 to be closer to their two daughters and grandchildren, she knew she would need regular checkups at the UAMS Myeloma Center. She was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells in the blood, in 2009. But Jerilee Gott,…


December 9, 2020

Myeloma Survivor Grateful for Time with Grandchildren

Linda Haymes

“Growing old with my husband, watching my grandchildren grow up and spending time with my family and friends were some of the things I thought I might miss,” Linda Cancienne of Alabaster, Alabama, said, recalling being diagnosed with myeloma in 2001 when she was 59.

Linda Cancienne of Alabaster, Alabama, and her husband, Mike, recently celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary by gathering with family around a backyard fire pit, socially distancing and wearing masks. “We went to our daughter’s house and enjoyed being together and recalling good memories,” Cancienne said. “I sure do miss hugging, though.” There was a time…



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