Many evenings as of late find me huddled on the couch, joints aching, a low-grade fever toasting my body, and an inability to do anything but con­template an early bedtime.

I’m fine, really I am. I just saw my oncologist in early October, and his parting words were “See you in eight weeks.” My lab numbers are steady; I am on no medications.

So what’s up with my new nighttime routine? I do not have definitive an­swer, but I have …

I once read an article in which the author described her habit of working herself into an illness requiring hospitalization about every two years. She did this routinely until a doctor finally pointed out to her that scheduling a vacation every so often would be a more cost-effective, healthier practice. The author, who had been eschewing vacations as a waste of time, became a convert.

I read that article decades ago. I read it back in the pre-computer, pre-cell …

This one is for all of us who live in Cancerland and are waylaid by one too many individuals practicing medicine without a license.

What is it about a cancer diag­nosis that suddenly endows people around you with a degree in oncology?

I first became aware of this phenomenon when I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma almost nine years ago. Since then, I have seen it played out in count­less settings, including a myeloma support meeting.

The moment someone mentions …

I don’t know about anyone else, but when I was diag­nosed with mye­loma back in 2004, my work hours, which were already slim, were immedi­ately cut back. When it be­came clear I could no longer perform my usual and customary job du­ties, my employ­ment ceased entirely. I didn’t receive any unem­ploy­ment bene­fits after my termination.

Before anyone rushes to comment on my rights as a worker, let me add one ad­di­tional note: I was self-employed. At the time of my …

For a little over two years now, I have been a staff mediator at our local Juvenile Court.

Our court established a mediation department over a decade ago to try a dif­fer­ent approach to settling cases. Most of them involve unmarried parents trying to resolve custody and visitation issues. My role is to help the parties com­muni­cate with one another and try to reach agreement on arrangements that are best for the children.

I am not a judge or magistrate; …

I grew up in a blue-collar family where vacations were momentous events. They didn’t happen every year, but when they did, they tended to be memorable.

There was the Yellowstone Park vacation, the Expo ’67 vacation, the Lincoln Trail vaca­tion. Our family vacations required a lot of planning and saving. While we were away, my mother would always send heaps of postcards to family and friends showing our travels in vivid color.

As kids, my brothers and I would save …

Myeloma is measured by the numbers. Those of us with it are always counting on our fingers, tallying our gains and losses.

We know our IgG number. We know our M-spike. We can reel off our free light chain kappa/lambda ratio. Our hemoglobin, our red blood cell count, our creatinine levels, our neutrophil count – we know them all.

Some of us keep detailed spreadsheets, tracking our lab results over long periods of time. Doing this is yet another tool …