Among the challenges of being a fledgling, freelance medical writer, such as no steady paycheck and last minute deadlines, there are also some advantages. My schedule is flexible, and I get to meet some really smart, interesting people. Sometimes I even get to meet heroes. Yesterday, I met both.

Dr. Lee Green and Cathy Grant run a program at Moffitt Cancer Center called Moffitt Diversity. The program is designed to increase minority participation among researchers, staff, and patients at Moffitt—and …

As a multiple myeloma patient, it can be difficult discussing our cancer with other people. It’s not that it’s hard to talk about myeloma, but it’s hard to know how much to share or not share – how much does the other person really want to know?

I had a somewhat unique experience of knowing a multiple myeloma patient before my myeloma diagnosis.

Loren Liedl was a dear friend of mine. He was a quiet family man who lived …

If you are a multiple myeloma patient, you probably understand the costs associated with your cancer. Unlike some people who probably need to trim their budget by bringing a bag lunch to work or skipping their daily latte, that kind of “fiscal responsibility” won't help much with monthly chemotherapy bills totaling as much as $7,000 a month or more!

Financially surviving multiple myeloma takes careful budgeting and planning—no fun when you are already sick and stressed. Here are some tips …

After reading last week's column, hopefully you have had some time to ponder the all-important question: What am I going to do with the rest of my post-cancer life?

As you continue to identify your post-cancer priorities, it is time to set some goals to help make your new life plan a reality.

Goal setting can be difficult for any cancer patient—but especially for those with multiple myeloma. We live in a “no man's land” filled with uncertainty. Many …

Last week, I wrote that it’s important to develop a life plan after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma. In order to create a plan, you need to set goals and create a budget, but it’s hard to do either of those unless you have a feel for what you want to do or achieve.

This is one of life's most difficult questions: What do you want to do with the rest of your life?

Didn't you hate hearing that …

The majority of multiple myeloma patients suffer from bone disease, and drugs called bisphosphonates are commonly used to help improve bone health in myeloma patients. Dr. David Roodman of the University of Pittsburgh discussed the current use of bisphosphonates in multiple myeloma during an education session on June 7 at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting.

Treatment of myeloma bone disease is important, since 20 percent of multiple myeloma patients experience a fracture at the time of …

Three months after my initial multiple myeloma diagnosis in the spring of 2007, my oncologist at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Zeldenrust, looked me in eyes and said, “The average Stage II patient lives 43 months.”

That's less than four years. It was an accurate, honest answer at the time. I had pushed and prodded him to give me a prognosis. Like many patients, I needed some idea about how to plan for my now shortened future.

I was 51 years old. …