One of the most common clichés in the cancer world is “one day at a time.”  However, I think that it is human nature to look ahead, to plan, to envision where you will be at a certain point in time.

We all have things that we are looking forward to: events, milestones, and trips.

I’m planning to go to Washington, D.C., in two weeks to visit my son. I’d like to take that big trip in 3 months. I’ve …

From time to time, I will run into an acquaintance who is vaguely familiar with my situation but not really aware of all the details.  They will often ask, “Are you back to work these days?”

I usually will respond with something like. “I’m busy enough just taking care of my health.”  This is true, but an oversimplification.

The unfortunate reality is that I have become a full-time multiple myeloma patient.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. I never …

In the column I wrote two months ago, I relayed how I was doing 100 days after my allogeneic (donor) stem cell transplant.

I struck a pretty optimistic note.  I felt that the transplant itself had gone really well and that the big question that was still out there was whether it would work to control my multiple myeloma for a meaningful amount of time.

Unfortunately, I may have gotten my answer sooner than I expected.

I was really …

When I stopped working due to my multiple myeloma, my biggest concern was how I was going to maintain my health insurance.

Through a deal I negotiated with my partners, I was able to stay on our group health plan for a while.  When my former group merged with a larger group, this option was no longer available.  Since the group plan was being dissolved, COBRA insurance was also not available.

After much anxiety and research, I discovered that since …

One of the big things that you hear about with any transplant, but especially with the allogeneic (donor transplant), is that it is critical to get past the first 100 days.

Whenever friends would ask after my transplant when I could relax a little about going out, eating, and life in general, the answer was always, “After the first 100 days.”

I recently passed the famous 100-day mark.

I have to tell you, I didn’t hear any trumpets go off …

I am happy that I have entered a relatively quiet period in my recovery from my allogeneic (donor) stem cell transplant and that things seem to be going well.  I am returning to something closer to a normal life, whatever that is anymore, and my mind has turned to other musings.

So, I thought I would write about something other than multiple myeloma and stem cell transplants, which brings me to the Lance Armstrong story.

As an avid cyclist, weekend …

It is now day 60 following my donor (allogeneic) stem cell transplant, and I wanted to give an update on how it has gone and what is in store.

As with an autologous (self) stem cell transplant, everyone talks about the first 100 days as the critical period. This is true even more so with the donor transplant.

As I mentioned in my last column about my transplant, the intensity of the treatment, the need for close monitoring, and …