Among the challenges of being a fledgling, freelance medical writer, such as no steady paycheck and last minute deadlines, there are also some advantages. My schedule is flexible, and I get to meet some really smart, interesting people. Sometimes I even get to meet heroes. Yesterday, I met both.

Dr. Lee Green and Cathy Grant run a program at Moffitt Cancer Center called Moffitt Diversity. The program is designed to increase minority participation among researchers, staff, and patients at Moffitt—and it's working.

In 2009, the program started a neighborhood cancer outreach program aimed at Hispanic males. Only four men attended the inaugural program. One year later, over two hundred men participated.

Lee and Cathy have also made impressive gains among the Tampa area African-American population. This is especially important for multiple myeloma. According to a population-based study ^[1] by the National Cancer Institute last year, which included 28,636 patients, multiple myeloma is the most common hematologic malignancy in African-Americans, with myeloma twice as common among African-Americans as Caucasians.

Yet, I have always wondered why I don't see more African-Americans in cancer center waiting rooms I have visited over the years.

Thanks to their diversity program, Moffitt Cancer Center's Bone Marrow Transplant program has among the highest number of African-American participants in the country; 9 percent of the program's patients are African-American, and a whopping 17 percent are Hispanic.

A good friend of mine and fellow multiple myeloma patient, Elijah Alexander from Dallas, Texas, passed away in March. Elijah was a former National Football League linebacker with a wonderful family and an outgoing, charismatic personality. He was a large, African-American man with an even larger heart. Following his multiple myeloma diagnosis six years ago, Elijah dedicated his life to helping other multiple myeloma patients—especially those from the inner city of Dallas.

The day that we met, I shared my interest in helping minority patients gain access to better care at cancer centers that specialize in multiple myeloma. I remember brainstorming with him at lunch just last year about ways we could help get African-Americans—especially males—to take control of their care and seek a second opinion with a specialist.

We were also interested in helping to promote attendance at multiple myeloma support groups, especially among African-Americans.

Elijah and I discussed all of this again at the American Society of Hematology meeting in New Orleans this past December. We talked and laughed and schemed, thinking we would get together to compare notes and plan again soon.

Unfortunately, Elijah died before we could meet again.

Every time I attend a large medical conference, I see and hear the same thing: how difficult it is to get African-Americans to seek treatment at top-notch, nationally recognized cancer centers. Thanks to the hard work of people like Lee Green and Cathy Grant, real progress is being made here in Florida.

In the past, I have written that I believe the real heroes for most multiple myeloma patients are the oncology nurses. I still believe that to be true. But considering all of their hard work and success helping minority patients receive the excellent cancer care they deserve, I don't think you will mind if I add Dr. Lee Green and Cathy Grant to my multiple myeloma heroes list.

Feel good and keep smiling! Pat