Roy Scheider Dies of Multiple Myeloma at 75

Roy Scheider, a popular actor who was best known for his award winning portrayal of a police chief in the thriller, Jaws, has died at the early age of 75. Mr. Scheider suffered from Multiple Myeloma, a cancer that begins in the body's plasma cells.

A painful cancer, Myeloma begins in the cells of the bone marrow and spreads to the bones. According to MedicineNet.com "myeloma begins when a plasma cell becomes abnormal. The abnormal cell divides to make copies of itself. The new cells divide again and again, making more and more abnormal cells. The abnormal plasma cells are myeloma cells. Myeloma cells make antibodies called M proteins.In time, myeloma cells collect in the bone marrow. They may crowd out normal blood cells. Myeloma cells also collect in the solid part of the bone. The disease is called "multiple myeloma" because it affects many bones. (If myeloma cells collect in only one bone, the single mass is called a plasmacytoma.)"

Multiple Myeloma is sneaky. They say that if you catch it early it is a curable cancer. The problem is, it is hard to "catch early". At least it was in our case. My Father was bedridden for several years with complications of Diabetes, and my Mother was his primary caregiver for all of those years. He was a big man, and being bedridden, required total care. My Mother is the one that turned him in bed. Very often several times a day. It is hard work caring for someone, so when she complained to her doctor of achy bones, he and she both assumed that it was just from the stress and challenges of caring for my father. He prescribed medication and sent her home.

This continued for a few months, her pain was getting more severe, but thinking it was from taking care of my dad, she hired someone to help, rather than heading back to the doctor. So often we make excuses for our aches and pains, when often it is a warning that there is something going on, and this is what she did. Until her arm broke.