MMI Patient story Declan Watson

“Mindset is crucial and I made a very conscious decision not to fight cancer because multiple myeloma sucks the living daylights out of you and instead I want to use that energy to live my life.” These are the words of Declan Watson, a human resources consultant who also happens to be an elite indoor rower, and who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2020.

His diagnosis came as a surprise, as he was diagnosed with monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS) while undergoing regular blood tests for another condition at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York. Completely asymptomatic, a discernible spike in his paraprotein was identified.

“The doctors determined that it was MGUS and that they would keep an eye on it,” explains Declan. Yet within two years it had progressed to smouldering myeloma and in November 2020 following a bone marrow biopsy, he was advised to begin treatment for multiple myeloma.

“Deep down I knew there was a distinct possibility that it could progress from MGUS to full blown multiple myeloma,” says Declan. “The rough odds were that one in 10 progress to smouldering and one in 10 of those progress to multiple myeloma. When it progressed to smouldering I knew I was sitting on a bit of a timebomb but I did have that time to read up on it and understand it more. Finally my consultant said ‘you’ve got one leg over the fence – you might as well start treatment’,” he recalls.

By then living in London, he began his treatment at Guy’s Cancer centre, undergoing induction therapy for 12 weeks, followed by high dose chemotherapy and an autologous stem cell transplant. “I was fortunate enough to be part of a trial for the Griffin protocol [daratumumab in combination with lenalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone], which is still being studied but is showing good promise.”

Treatment was tough, however, he admits. “The fatigue is so extreme and no amount of sleep will fix it and stem cell transplants are no picnic either – you will get through it but it is difficult at the time. I made a conscious choice to live with multiple myeloma and not to fight it, making adjustments to my lifestyle where needed and being cognisant of the things that will allow me to live as normal a life as possible.”

A sustained period of remission has followed. “I have been fortunate to have a deep remission and I get my numbers checked quarterly. The numbers are beginning to turn ever so slightly but it’s still not clinically significant at this point. But I appreciate with multiple myeloma that each successive remission is shorter than the last, and that’s something that people don’t always realise.”

Declan has now been off maintenance therapy for 14 months and is back in full training. Having rowed while in college, it again became a much-needed outlet for him in 2017 when his wife began treatment for throat cancer.

Although he competed at the 2023 European Rowing Indoor Championships in Paris, France, and a few weeks later at the World Rowing Indoor Championships in Toronto, Canada, while still on chemotherapy, he was then waylaid with knee trouble. Following a total knee replacement earlier this year, he is keen to get back to full fitness and has a goal of competing again at the World Rowing Indoor Championships in February, 2026. Declan is designing his own performance jerseys, and as part of his efforts to raise awareness of multiple myeloma, they will carry the logos of major charities, including International Myeloma Foundation, Healthtree.org, Multiple Myeloma Ireland and Myeloma UK.

Helping to raise awareness of this “hidden blood cancer” is a priority for Declan. “We need to look at how we can help educate people on what to look for, the signs and symptoms – it needs to be done in a way that’s creative but not in a way that scares the hell out of people.”

He also believes that newly diagnosed patients can find themselves in something of a vacuum when it comes to multiple myeloma. “It’s not the lack of information, it’s that people just don’t know where to go for information. People have been diagnosed and they want to get smart about it,” he says. “The best advice I got soon after my diagnosis was that educated multiple myeloma patients live longer, and that’s incredibly powerful. It doesn’t mean challenging your medical professionals, it’s about being able to ask insightful questions and understand truly what your options are. It’s all about helping patients being advocates for themselves”.