Last week I shared a few of the higher profile, public figures who have inspired me in my fight against multiple myeloma.

This week I would like to concentrate on the extraordinary people who work behind the scenes to help those of us with multiple myeloma.  They don’t get as much notoriety or praise for what they do, but they each inspire me to get up and get going every day.

Caregivers top the list.  I have been there, so …

There are so many people who have inspired me since my diagnosis in April 2007.  Some are public figures, and some work their magic in relative obscurity.   All have played an important part in my ongoing battle against multiple myeloma.

I’ll write this week about the public figures, and next week I'll write about the many other people who have inspired me.

Like many of you, Geraldine Ferraro tops the list.  She was the first celebrity survivor I ran across …

I don’t often write what could be called “feel good stories.”

But life is about balance. I get so caught-up in trying to help multiple myeloma patients and caregivers get a handle on their “new normal” lives, I forget how important it is for all of us to just try to stay positive—and inspiration can definitely help with that.

Different things inspire different people. For me, it’s the small, seemingly insignificant everyday things that move me the most. These are …

My wife, Pattie, is an excellent caregiver.  A three-time cancer survivor herself, Pattie knows what it feels like to battle cancer.  That experience helps her understand what I am going through.

We were recently forced to face the reality of my first relapse.  After four years of Revlimid helping keep my multiple myeloma at bay, we learned two months ago that the myeloma is back and active.

Even if I’m not feeling well—or Pattie is tired after work—we always try …

By the time I learned I had multiple myeloma, I was really sick.  Bedridden from a fractured vertebra and high on narcotics, everything seemed surreal—like I was in a fog.

Sure, I searched around a bit online for information.  But there weren’t as many good sources of info four years ago as there are now.

But even with newer sources of information, there are a number of barriers that slow patients from getting up-to-speed and learning as much as they …

Today I completed the last of my 13 radiation treatments for the lesion in my right hip.  Let’s hear it for lucky 13!

As I gathered my things and headed to the changing room, one of the radiation techs wished me well and said goodbye.  She added they would all miss me.

“Don’t worry.”  I said.  “I will probably see you again in a few years.”

“Don’t say that!” she replied, a bit surprised.

“That’s ok.  I know my myeloma …

Finding out that you have multiple myeloma can make you a little neurotic. What else would you expect from someone who has been diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer?

After all, learning you might die in the relatively near future is enough to drive anyone a little crazy.

But the key here is “relatively near future.”

Although there are exceptions, the younger one is when he or she receives their diagnosis, the more difficult the adjustment seems to …