N.C. retailer Jerry Nowell discussing cancer on TV

Furniture store raising funds to fight multiple myeloma, which he has

Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, November 1, 2010

Jerry Nowell

CARY, N.C. — Jerry Nowell, owner of Nowell's Contemporary Furniture here, is going on TV today to discuss his battle with a form of blood cancer called multiple myeloma and the fundraiser he has launched to benefit research for a cure.

Nowell will be a guest on the Raleigh, N.C., NBC affiliate's "My Carolina Today" show at 11 a.m. Eastern time. He will be joined by Dr. Cristina Gasparetto, a specialist in laboratory and clinical research in multiple myeloma at Duke University.

Multiple myeloma is cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow. Nowell, 49, was diagnosed in May after a routine check up.

Since then, he has been sharing his progress on Facebook and planning "Nowell's Fund to Fight Multiple Myeloma" in association with the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center. The fundraiser benefits multiple myeloma cancer research at Duke Medicine.

The furniture store has been sponsoring holiday season charitable fundraisers for several years, and Nowell's decision to make cancer research at Duke the recipient of this year's fundraiser was personal.

"While there is currently no cure for multiple myeloma, ongoing research raises great hope that emerging therapies may turn it into a manageable disease, and ultimately lead to a cure," Nowell said.

Gasparetto will discuss some of those advances when the show airs today.

Nowell's Contemporary furnishes the set for "My Carolina Today." Jerry Nowell will announce today that pieces on the set will be up for auction on the store's website at www.nowellsfurniture.com starting today with all proceeds benefitting the cancer research at Duke.