I recently spent a few days visiting a relative in the hospital. Fortunately, all is well for her, but observing intense medical care as the visitor for a change gave me time to think about what it means to be a “good patient.”

While considering this issue and subsequently writing this column, I learned that the notion of “good” or “bad” patients is the subject of some debate and schol­ar­ship in the medical community.

For instance, in a study of …

My multiple myeloma diagnosis chal­lenges a funda­mental way that I’ve lived my life. I’ve always been one to use my knowledge and logic to take control and manage events.

Obviously, as patients, we simply don't control as much of our future as we once did. The disease is the primary in­flu­encer, and while we have choices about treat­ment options, we don't really control those either. I've struggled with the feeling that I've lost control, but that is not the challenge …

When I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, I wasn’t experi­enc­ing any obvi­ous symptoms of the disease. I’ve also avoided substantial side effects from treat­ment. Even so, I am impacted by the disease and treat­ment, and I thought it might be useful, especially for newly diag­nosed patients, if I shared my experi­ences.

For much of my adult life, I’ve had “back issues” so I didn’t really think much of the back pain I was experi­enc­ing prior to my myeloma diagnosis. I’d …

As I wrote earlier this summer, my wife and I moved from our home of 26 years to a new house a few miles north. The move not only meant a new place to rest our heads, but we also joined the apparently growing trend of multi­gener­ational living, having purchased the house with our adult daughter.

Starting a new home with my daughter is exciting. It will mean some fun lifestyle changes and many projects to develop a living …

Happy Birthday to me!

On July 22, 2016, the medical team at my transplant center infused my own stem cells back into my body. Only two days before, I received a massive and otherwise deadly dose of the chemotherapy drug melphalan. This was day one of my recovery from that treatment and, hopefully, an end to the myeloma cells that invaded my body.

I’m pleased to announce on this anniversary that all reports are positive.

It amazes me that it’s …

April marked nine months since my autologous stem cell transplant and the beginning of another cycle of maintenance therapy.

Complete labs are drawn at the beginning of each treatment cycle. As usual, I received an email a few days later that included the latest lab results. I im­medi­ately scrolled to the bottom of the report to look at my M-spike. Instead of num­bers, this time I saw letters: “Too small to quantify.”

That was the first time since my diagnosis two …

Apparently I’m not content to let life settle into a routine. As I wrote last month, I’ve entered a very happy holding pattern with my disease and maintenance therapy, but life is never that simple.

We’ve decided to sell our family home of 26 years and move. The move will be short in distance (only a few miles north), but far in change of life. The process has consumed a great deal of my time, energy, and attention.

We raised …