'Not checking out yet': Woman with incurable cancer vows to keep fighting

Heather Appleton just renewed her passport for another ten years.

“I’m not checking out yet,” said Appleton, 61, who has the incurable cancer, Multiple Myeloma.

Appleton was diagnosed eight years ago after getting injured while playing in a slo-pitch game in Dorchester.

“I felt this pop in my back and I had actually fractured my spine because there was a tumor,” said Appleton, who didn’t even find out until months later.

“I thought it was just muscle pain. I travelled to Ireland to my daughter’s wedding, and I didn’t find out the severity until I went to physiotherapy, acupuncture and my family doctor. I could hardly walk with the pain, it was so bad.”

She went into urgent care, had imaging done and found the tumor. It was emergency surgery then chemotherapy.

“It's incurable, but it's treatable,” she said.

“It has been a roller coaster. I can't lie.”

Heather Appleton, a Multiple Myeloma survivor, speaks at the Walk of Champions in Dorchester, Ont. on Sept. 8, 2024 (Source: Brent Lale/CTV London)

Ev McDowell, going on 24 years since her initial diagnosis, started the London Myeloma Support Group.

“I remember meeting Heather just shortly after her diagnosis, and I think she had it pretty rough with a lot of back pain before they got a diagnosis,” said McDowell.

“She’s a real fighter. I remember her having a stem cell transplant and it not working, and I felt so bad for her. There is a drug she's been on for a long time now, and I just find she's a really resilient woman who is active and just lives the best life she can.”

Appleton is back to hosting a low impact cardio Zoom class two or three times a week and led the warmup prior to Sunday’s Walk of Champions in Dorchester for survivors of multiple myeloma, their families and caregivers.

This year’s walk has raised close to $100,000 and in the since years since its inception, more than $1 million has been raised for research.

In 2020, it was estimated that 3,400 Canadians would be diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, an incurable cancer of the plasma cells in the bone marrow.

Survivors of Multiple Myeloma gather for a photo during the 16th annual Walk of Champions in Dorchester, Ont. on Sep. 8, 2024. (Source: Brent Lale/CTV London)

However, in the last few years research has produced new treatments, increasing the lifespan (which was recently two to five years) of patients and the hope is that a cure will soon be in sight.

“It's kind of daunting, but the life expectancy is increasing,” said Appleton.

“We're an expensive bunch of cancer patients because the drugs are expensive, but they're working. The healthcare that I've had in London has been excellent.”

She plans on attending this Walk of Champions for years to come and take advantage of that 10-year passport.