June 2023

Bayo Oladele

My name is Adebayo Oladele but my friends and family call me Bayo. I have been surviving my battle with multiple myeloma for just about 7 years. 

I would like to share my experiences with you as a Black African cancer patient, the series of battles I fought against cancer, the barrage of treatments I underwent, the notions people in our community still have about cancer, the Art of Caregiving to cancer patients and how God rescued me from the cold hand of death. 

Allow me to share a bit of our story.

My wife Yinka, our son and I immigrated to Canada from Nigeria on October 30, 2000 and have made Calgary our home ever since. I am a professional and certified cyber security expert and project manager. Although I have a master’s degree in electrical engineering, I decided long ago to focus on computer engineering and cyber security. I was an information Security Specialist with the Canadian Pacific Railway for 11 years, but because of myeloma, I haven’t been able to work since my diagnosis in 2016.

As anyone with cancer knows, cancer treatment is extremely expensive. I am lucky to have been working for a good company that provides good medical insurance. The major financial players in my cancer journey so far have been my employer’s insurance coverage and Disability Insurance benefits, the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Alberta Health Services, and our own personal finances.

I had been having pain in my body for a while, especially in my left arm. I thought it was from sitting for long periods of time in front of the computer. But in early 2016, the pain became so intense that I went to our family doctor for a checkup. He ordered some blood work, gave me anti-inflammatory medication, and said the pain was from the inflammation. When the results of my blood work came back, he said there was a concern – my results showed a high percentage of protein in my blood.

That February, I did a cancer screening. The results came back negative – apparently, I was free of (colorectal) cancer. But I wasn’t feeling well, so in March, I did more blood work and had a full medical checkup. 

By Saturday 26th of March 2016, the pain had spread to other parts of my body. I was having pain in my left shoulder, right ribs and left hip which had become more acute. By that evening, I could no longer bear the pain and at about 02:00 am my wife Yinka and I went to the emergency room (ER) of Foothills Medical Centre (FMC).  

Being prayed for by pastors, July 2016

We were in the ER until around 17:00 Easter Sunday. The pains had subsided because of the palliative drugs that were given to me, but the doctors were still unable to identify the cause. Papers were prepared for my discharge, and the doctor said, “If the pains come back, you know where we are.”  

As we were getting up to leave, one of the doctors jokingly asked what my age was, even though it was there in my file he was holding, I told him my age and he said it was not typical for someone of my age to be having these kinds of pains. He then suggested that I should go for another X-ray if I wouldn’t mind!  

That X-ray started everything! If it had not been done, I would have gone back home to continue nursing my pains until it would have probably been too late! I am eternally grateful to that doctor and, of course, to God for quickening the doctor’s mind to suggest the X-ray. That is one of the reasons I am still living today. The X-ray showed a tumour that could not be confirmed so I was asked to return the following day for a complete CT scan. 

Me and Yinka

Test results revealed that the cancer cells were reducing from my body and the protein had become normalized. I continued with chemotherapy. By that August, I was placed on a second phase of chemo in preparation for a stem cell transplant. The procedure was very difficult and came with a series of lab work and tests to determine the baseline of how the organs in my body were operating so as to return me back to my normal body function. It was like a data backup and restore process, or like establishing an operating baseline or data restore point!

Getting ready for apheresis, August 2016

The stem cell transplant finally took place in October of 2016, seven months after I received my diagnosis. My own stem cells were taken (harvested) in September through a process called apheresis. Free from infection, these were cultured and planted back into my body in what’s commonly referred to as an autologous stem cell transplant. I had a strong dose of chemo the day before the transplant to make sure my body was free of cancerous cells. This was a major turning point in my life. My immunity was essentially taken away and replaced by new stem cells that would enable me to develop new immunity. 

I do not like to be out of work, and I always need to keep busy, so stopping work in March of 2016 was very hard. I was determined that cancer would not prevent me from returning to work, so in January of 2017, I returned for a few days a week. I still had many medical appointments, was undergoing multiple tests, couldn’t sit or stand for long hours, and was still wrestling with the side effects of the drugs I was taking.

Me with my grandkids, and with Yinka

Without my wife Yinka, things might have been very different. I am so blessed for her care, for her looking after me, even when I was sleeping! 

Aside from Yinka, I would like to thank my community, the Nigerian community at large, the BP Church, my CIO, my boss and colleagues at work, a host of pastors within and outside Calgary and Canada, various prayer groups, Alhajis, and families and friends for their support, prayers and for bringing food and other items to help us along the way.

My wife continues to stand beside me in good times and bad. We believe that it’s very important to associate with your community. No one can be an Island.



Yinka and I promoting the African Cancer Support Group

By having a clear mind, taking every sign and symptom seriously and acting on them

at their early stages, following established and scientifically proven medical processes,

I hope that certain cancers will soon be downgraded to a non-terminal chronic disease.

It is also my hope that this write-up will help shed more light on the subject of cancer in Black Canadian communities and remove some of the superstitions around it. 

Me with Yinka (left), Zandra (center) and Ola (right)

Coming out, sharing and learning from one another can save a life.

It’s not your fault you have cancer.

We need more awareness and we need to encourage one another that cancer is nothing to be ashamed of…and that God is still in the business of healing and performing miracles.

Yours sincerely,

Bayo Oladele

We hope you enjoy meeting our 2023 Spotlight Stars and your fellow Myeloma Canada community members. The Spotlight section of Myeloma Matters features stories and reflections supplied by members of our community - those living with myeloma, caregivers, healthcare professional - in their words. The views expressed and shared are those of that individual. We recognize that everyone’s journey and experience with myeloma is different.

To all of you who have shared your stories in the past, and those of you who continue to do so today, we are indebted...you are an inspiration.  

If you would like to share your experience in a future issue of Myeloma Matters, please contact us at contact@myeloma.ca.

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Myeloma Canada's mission: To improve the lives of Canadians impacted by myeloma through awareness-building, educational efforts, advocacy, fostering an empowered myeloma community and support of clinical research so that a cure may be found.