This summer was an unusual one here in Calgary. In June, after weeks of rain, a severe flood devastated parts of our city. The bike and pe­des­tri­an pathways and bridges that are heavily used along our river banks were partially washed out. The system was closed for awhile, until assess­ments and initial repairs could be made.

This impacted most of us here. I use the pathway system quite a lot, ei­ther on foot or by bicycle. I was relieved when …

My husband and I recently took a road trip to Golden and Revelstoke in British Columbia. We hiked and went sightseeing among the mountains and lakes.  It was truly beautiful there.

While driving down one country road, we passed a tractor that was mowing the tall grasses along the shoulder. Seeing that triggered my memory, since mowing is ‘low tech’ compared to other ways of clearing vegetation that I have noticed in the past. When I was young, I saw …

We are currently in the peak of summer, and fresh fruit and vegetables are plen­ti­­ful and in a great variety.

This made me realize how much my diet and nutrition has changed since I was diag­nosed with multiple myeloma.

The first change that indirectly impacted my eating habits was having vertebral fractures in the spring of 2009. I was immobilized for at least a month and took a lot of medication to manage the pain. My activity levels plummeted to …

In this new age of the Internet and the ability to communicate online with others anywhere using a personal computer, many people turn to ‘cyberspace’ to find information, to find new contacts, and to ask medical questions.

Consider that ‘surfing the net’ is not strenuous at all and is available to most myeloma patients, even if they have been injured, are in the hospital, or are resting at home. There is an international aspect to it also, which gives us …

After my last column, in which I described how I recently felt strong enough to try practicing yoga, I realized that there have been many changes in my life since my myeloma diagnosis four years ago.

Although no one would want to be handed a diagnosis of any kind of cancer, including multiple myeloma, I managed to scrape through the tough times. Now I have emerged onto a clear plateau of being in a remission, and I no longer need …

When I look back on the last five years, I can see real changes in my life due to having had myeloma, including at least two years of intensive cancer treatments.

Before I was diagnosed, I was active physically and enjoyed jogging, working out at a gym, singing in a choir, playing bagpipes in a band, and doing Pilates classes.

Pilates, as done on floor mats, includes strengthening and stretching exercises with the aim of building a strong core.  Taking …

In mid-January I had a routine check-up, and I had my blood drawn for testing ahead of time.

On the day of my check up, I was running late, so, when I got to the cancer cen­ter, I just rushed up to the unit clerk’s desk to check in.  To my sur­prise, the clerk handed me a requisition for another blood draw, but with no tests specified.

Startled, I quickly went down to the lab area.  It turned out that …