Eve Friedli

In early 2003, Eve Friedli noticed that she was constantly tired and that her blood pressure was slightly elevated. A wife and mom with a full-time job as a tax manager, Friedli never imagined that cancer might be the cause of her symptoms. But, just a few weeks later, Friedli was diagnosed with a form of cancer called multiple myeloma.

What is the connection between people like Eve Friedli and the Mayo Clinic Blood Donor Center? Like many people with cancer, Friedli needed blood and blood products while undergoing treatment for this disease.

Since her diagnosis, Friedli has received chemotherapy and two stem cell transplants — the first from her own harvested cells, and the second from her brother's harvested cells.

"While recovering from my transplants, I received platelets and red blood products. If those blood products weren't available, I would likely have been unable to recover on my own," says Friedli.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a cancer of plasma cells that affects 3 in 100,000 people each year. Plasma cells are a type of white blood cell present in bone marrow — the soft, blood-producing tissue that fills in the center of most bones. The disease is called multiple myeloma because myeloma cells can occur in multiple bone marrow sites in the body.

Plasma cells usually make up less than 5 percent of the cells in bone marrow. But in MM, a group of abnormal plasma cells (myeloma cells) multiplies, raising the percentage of plasma cells to more than 10 percent of the cells in bone marrow.

Uncontrolled plasma cell growth can damage bones and surrounding tissue. It can also cause anemia and kidney problems, and interfere with the immune system's ability to fight infections by inhibiting the body's production of normal antibodies.

In Friedli's, case, stem-cell transplants kept the cancer away for awhile. But in March 2006, test results showed that the myeloma recurred, and Friedli entered treatment again. This time, Friedli became involved in a Phase III clinical trial at Mayo Clinic, taking a new combination of medications that researchers are still evaluating. So far, the results of this treatment look promising for Friedli.

Friedli has not surrendered to this disease and the ups and downs that accompany it. She continues her work as a tax manager for a local petroleum wholesale company. In her "free time" Friedli works on the foundation she created, the Multiple Myeloma Charitable Foundation, raising funds for MM research. Family time, scrapbooking and jewelry-making round out her amazingly full schedule. Friedli maintains that relationships--with family, friends and the people she meets through her many activities--help keep her positive as she encounters new challenges.

Friedli's message to people who haven't tried blood donation yet?

"Please donate. You are everyday heros and so many people benefit from what you give. Your services and the products you provide as a donor are always necessary, every minute of every day."