Herd Immunity Keeps Me Safe

by Karen Lollis

Seven months ago, I was diagnosed with an incurable blood cancer called multiple myeloma. Myeloma develops when plasma cells in the bone marrow grow out of control and crowd out healthy blood cells. It can lead to severe bone damage as well as kidney disease. It also weakens the immune system. Many people with multiple myeloma don’t die from the cancer itself but from pneumonia or other complications from common illnesses.

Shortly after diagnosis, I entered the initial treatment stage. The treatment involved a combination of weekly injections and daily medications that suppressed my immune system.

Two months ago, I received a stem cell transplant. This process includes a high dose of chemotherapy that completely wipes out the bone marrow. That’s where blood cells are created, including the disease-fighting components like white blood cells, platelets, and plasma cells. The plasma cells are the ones that remember exposure to illnesses (whether through being sick or from vaccines) to help protect against future exposure. So unlike the first stage where my immune system was merely suppressed, at this point it was completely gone.

A couple of weeks after the transplant, those disease-fighting cells began coming back, but it will be a while before they regain efficiency at converting exposure into resistance again. That means I have another four months before I start the process of getting my childhood vaccinations again over the next year and a half.

Even after that time, I’ll still be in danger. My particular flavor of this cancer is known as a high-risk version, so I will be on some kind of treatment from here on out. Between the disease and the treatment, I will spend the rest of my life with a compromised immune system.

I’m not a person who lives in fear. I still have to live my life. I work full time. I hang out with friends and family. I am not isolating myself, but I am careful. I do all the usual things that science has shown help limit the spread of colds and the flu. I wash my hands, and I wear a mask at work, at the grocery store, and anywhere crowded.

One thing that makes it easier is that the people I’m surrounded by show their love by letting me know if they’ve been exposed to anything and staying clear until they’re safe again. They’ve all been vaccinated, including for COVID.

Unfortunately, my community at large is at risk of falling under the threshold for herd immunity for diseases like whooping cough and measles, which can be deadly for me.

What is Herd Immunity?

Herd immunity is the idea that if enough people are immune to a disease (usually through vaccinations), the disease is no longer able to find a path to spread through the population. People who choose not to get vaccinations are not only putting themselves at risk but also putting at risk others who are either too young to have received all their vaccines yet or have a weakened immune system.

I’m in good hands with my medical team. New treatments are continuously being developed, and I’m optimistic I’ll be around for a very long time. For now, I have no immune system. Even once I’m vaccinated again, my immune system will be weak for the rest of my life. So I’m counting on my community, my herd, to care for me and others in my situation by getting all of their vaccines, including the annual seasonal ones like flu and COVID.

Karen Lollis is a Pacific Northwest native who loves her grown sons, spreadsheets, and camping. She lives in Southern Oregon with her husband, who took her sailing for their first date in 1979. Her story, like all others on this blog, was a voluntary submission. If you want to help make a difference, submit your own post by emailing us through our contact form. We depend on real people like you sharing experience to protect others from misinformation.