In Battle Against Multiple Myeloma, Avid Cyclist Finds Research Outpaces Disease

In one sense, Maurice said his ongoing battle with multiple myeloma (MM) began long before he even knew he had a fight on his hands.

In 2010, Maurice, a longtime resident of Sacramento, California, was a 46-year-old active and athletic building automation systems engineer who suddenly found himself easily fatigued and fighting one infection after another. His diagnosis came as a shock. His subsequent (and ongoing) medical journey opened his eyes to a world he knew relatively little about.

Maurice points to the work of researchers and doctors dedicated to developing better treatments for blood cancers — work that took a giant leap forward in 2001 when then-President George Bush addressed the nation to talk about the importance of stem cell research and committed to what he called “aggressive federal funding” in that area.

“My story really didn’t start in 2010,” Maurice said, referencing the year of his diagnosis. “I think my story started back when federal-funded research allowed adult stem cells to be studied en masse.”

That research, funded and supported by the National Institutes of Health, opened the door to chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy — in which a patient’s own immune cells are genetically engineered in a laboratory to attack cancer cells — and advances in autologous bone marrow transplants, which use a patient’s own healthy stem cells to replace bone marrow that’s not working properly.

Maurice underwent those treatments, along with varying regimens of chemotherapy, as his doctors tried progressive approaches to fighting his MM. Most recently, in December 2024, he participated in a CAR T-cell therapy clinical trial at Stanford Health Care trial that targets both the B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) and the G protein-coupled receptor class C group 5 member D (GPRC5D) proteins.

“During my cancer journey — and even before — in the background, there were advances,” Maurice said. “My wife put it this way: ‘The research outpaced my disease.’ ”

Maurice’s appreciation for scientific research has only grown. Both he and his wife have participated in bicycle charity rides to raise money for blood cancer research — and it alarms him to see federal funding for such research on the chopping block.

“Research money is needed to be able to stay ahead of a disease and eventually find things that are curative,” Maurice said. “One of the most encouraging things you can hear as a cancer patient is your doctor saying, 'OK, we have something to deal with that.' Without the funding, the conversation is much different."

Maurice’s health journey continues. In July 2025, he learned that he had developed secondary acute myeloid leukemia and later underwent a bone marrow transplant. He said he is recovering well, tapering off medications to prevent graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and enjoying time with family and friends. He is also participating in three clinical trials. One is looking at dual CAR-T therapy for MM, another studying the effects of reduced dosages of cyclophosphamide relative to GVHD, and the third focusing on the effect of chemotherapy on the gut microbiome.

Maurice said the significance of federal funding for medical research is obvious to his doctors. “They deeply understand the criticality of having federal funding to continue their research,” Maurice said. “One of my oncologists described treatment options as arrows in the pouch to fight blood cancer. Federal funding allows doctors to refill that pouch with new innovations — arrows — that provide hope. In my case, these arrows were there just in time.”