In March 2020, as the world retreated into a global pandemic, Gregory was facing a private crisis. A retired government employee from Anniston, Alabama, Gregory was a man built on discipline and grit—traits that had defined his career. But at age 46, a persistent sore rib and crushing fatigue revealed a reality that shifted his world overnight: multiple myeloma.
“I couldn’t jack my car up and my left side started hurting real bad,” Gregory recalls. “I kept telling my wife I wasn’t feeling good. She took me to the emergency room that Monday, and they kept me there running tests. They didn’t tell me what was wrong until that Friday, when the doctor came in and told me I had cancer.”
The Uphill Battle
The statistics for multiple myeloma are daunting, particularly for Black Americans, who face a disproportionate burden of the disease and a 40 percent chance of early relapse. For Gregory, the diagnosis was terrifying, but it wasn’t an endpoint. It was the beginning of a relentless “mind over matter” mission.
“I was scared; I thought I was leaving,” Gregory tells BlackDoctor. “But I had to get that mind over matter. I wasn’t ready to give up. I still had a lot of fight in me.”
That fight was hereditary. Gregory had witnessed his father’s own battle with cancer, which sparked a realization. “Quitting wasn’t an option. My dad fought until he couldn’t fight no more. As long as I’ve got air in my lungs, I’m gonna keep fighting,” he shares.
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Identifying the Warning Signs
Looking back, the warning signs had been there, hidden in plain sight. Gregory initially attributed his exhaustion to age or weight.
“When I’d go fishing, I couldn’t walk half a block without having to sit down two or three times,” he shares. “I kept telling my best friend I needed to lose weight, but it wasn’t the weight—it was the multiple myeloma draining me, and I didn’t know it.”
A Leap of Faith into Innovation
After an initial remission from 2022 to 2024, Gregory’s numbers began to shift. On the cusp of his 50th birthday, his physician, Dr. Luciano Costa, recommended a bold move: joining a clinical trial for a new combination therapy.
That therapy—TECVAYLI + DARZALEX FASPRO—has since been approved by the FDA, with oncologists noting its potential to redefine how relapsed myeloma is treated in the U.S. The Phase 3 study was nothing short of transformational, showing the combination reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 83 percent.
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H., noted the urgency of the approval: “Multiple myeloma is notoriously challenging to treat. When we saw the most impressive second-line myeloma trial results in history, we acted quickly to bring this finding to everyday Americans.”
Ninety-one percent of patients who were progression-free at six months remained so at three years on this new regimen.
Living Proof
For Gregory, these numbers aren’t just data—they are the reason he is currently in remission. The treatment has evolved from intensive IV sessions to a much simpler injection. Most importantly, he feels like himself again.
“I’m back to doing yard work. I’m back to being normal, like I was before I got sick,” he says. He has focused on lifestyle changes, including diet and exercise. “I try to walk around the block at least two times a week. I’ve got my dog, so he helps me walk.”
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Gregory now uses his platform to address the specific toll this aggressive blood cancer takes on patients and educate the Black community:
- Disproportionate Impact: One in every five patients diagnosed in the U.S. is African American.
- Gender Gap: The disease affects men 1.5x more than women.
- The Relapse Hurdle: 40 percent of patients relapse early, at which point options typically dwindle.
His message to other Black men is urgent and direct: “I advise all Black men to get checked if you feel abnormal or fatigued. Please go to a doctor… there is too much help out there for us to not seek it.”
The Final Word
By sharing his journey, Gregory hopes to provide a blueprint for resilience.
“You can beat it once you get that mind over matter,” he concludes. “Don’t give up. It’s rough at first, but all the clinical trials out now are worth the fight. It’s worth the chance, because there is a lot that can save you now.”
