“I walked in, and she was like, ‘You know why you’re here? … I’m an orthopedic oncologist … I do cancer,’ ” Eric Dillon recalled

NEED TO KNOW

• Eric Dillon revealed that his shoulder pain that he had been dealing with for years led to a multiple myeloma diagnosis 
• Multiple myeloma is a type of blood cancer that begins in the plasma cells and can cause symptoms like bone pain
• The Houston father underwent treatment, including a clinical trial and radiation, and is now in remission

A Texas man found out that the signs for cancer can come in many forms — even shoulder pain.

Husband and father Eric Dillon told CBS News that several years after he began experiencing pain in his shoulder — which he initially thought was due to a strained rotator cuff — he was diagnosed with a type of blood cancer.

The Houston man told the outlet that it had gone undiagnosed for years as he had visited an orthopedic doctor and was put on a physical therapy and stretching regime that appeared to help it. It wasn’t until he felt a "tremendous pain" in his shoulder while doing yard work in May 2024 that his diagnosis was finally uncovered.

He recalled undergoing an MRI and being referred to an oncologist, admitting he "had no idea" what the referral meant at the time.

“I walked in, and she was like, ‘You know why you're here?’ I was like, ‘I've got a referral from another doctor to see you,’ ” Dillon recalled to CBS News. “She was like, ‘I'm an orthopedic oncologist … I do cancer.’ I was like, ‘Wait, what?’ ”

He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma — cancer that forms in a type of white blood cell called a plasma cell, according to Mayo Clinic. Instead of making antibodies, the cancer cells make proteins that don't work and cause symptoms like bone pain.

That was exactly what Dillon was experiencing and something that he was also familiar with as his cousin and a friend were both diagnosed with the blood cancer as as well. He was set up on a treatment plan and was also contacted to join a clinical trial to see if it would help ease his symptoms. 

"Being in a clinical trial, to me, was a plus,” Dillon told CBS News. “It made me feel a lot better. It gave me a little more control and more understanding of what was going on.”

He said that he underwent eight cycles of treatment — which typically includes a combination of targeted drugs, immunotherapies and steroids, per Mayo Clinic — in addition to the trial for nearly a year.

It wasn’t always smooth sailing for the Houston dad, as he told CBS News that he experienced side effects from the clinical trial which required him to adjust his drug dosage. And while the treatment helped, some cancer still remained in his shoulder bone that required several rounds of radiation.

Dillon noted that the pain in his shoulder finally went away, saying, "It was just tremendous to be pain-free and moving forward. Now, everything is beautiful." 

He is currently in remission and continues to see his oncologist and is on a daily medication to prevent the cancer from returning, according to CBS News. 

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Dillon told the outlet in the future that he may consider undergoing stem cell replacement — which according to Mayo Clinic involves replacing diseased or damaged stem cells with healthy ones to treat cancers — but he is content with where he is at health-wise right now.

In the meantime, he is sharing his story to let others know what signs to look out for, and that there is hope for remission — especially through several clinical trials available.

"This is not one of those cancers that there's no treatment for," Dillon told CBS News. "The future is bright. The opportunities are bright."

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