My wife, Pattie, is an amazing caregiver.  Smart and compassionate, her own experiences as a cancer survivor prepared her to intuitively understand what I need and when.

Pattie also has had a lot of practice as a caregiver; she’s been watching over me for over seven years.

I was battling symptoms for years before my multiple myeloma was diag­nosed in April of 2007. The good news was that an MRI finally revealed what a half dozen doctors couldn’t figure out. We …

Last month, I wrote about undergoing radiation therapy on both hips. I thought this month I would pass along how I’m doing in other ways.

First, the numbers.  My doublet therapy of Pomalyst (pomalidomide; Imnovid) and dexamethasone (Decadron) has now held my M-spike steady for two full months. The problem is that, even though my M-spike hovers around 0.6 g/dL (6 g/L), I get the distinct, painful feeling that lesions are continuing to develop and get worse.

The radiation …

I relapsed six or seven months ago. That fact was made painfully clear when I broke a rib getting into my wife’s car; several new lesions had weakened the ribs on my right side.

I assumed the acute pain was caused by the fracture. While I’m sure the break contributed to my discomfort, it turns out that one of the lesions was pressing on a nerve that runs along the underside of my rib cage. My medical oncologist immediately consulted with my radiation …

Most people avoid doing chores, whether it be washing dishes, mowing the lawn, doing laundry, or walking the dog. But for me, daily tasks are a joy.

I take great pleasure in the simple things. Routine is a welcome respite. I enjoy spending time around the house, chipping away at the “honey do” list – writing my column, or working on my next book with our dog, Finnegan, lying at my feet.

It wasn’t always this way. I dreaded the mundane and repetitive tasks …

Earlier this month, I admitted something that wasn’t easy for me: I’m refractory to both Revlimid and Velcade.

So what’s the big deal?  There are plenty of other drugs I haven’t tried.

True, my outlook isn’t as dire as it would have been three or four years ago.  I recall attending a pre­sen­ta­tion at the American Society of Hema­tol­ogy’s 2011 annual meeting in San Diego. Pomalyst and Kyprolis weren’t approved yet by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But a panel of …

“Inconclusive.”  That’s how my myeloma specialist described my current con­di­tion two weeks ago.

While I initially struggled with this description – because there was no clear-cut solution for it – I slowly came to see the upside of my current situation: It allowed me to not hurry to the next treatment, but rather em­brace every day, no matter how uncertain or painful it may be.

My new specialist at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, came highly recom­mended by several of my contacts at the …

I’m not exactly sure when it happened.   Maybe it changed two or three years ago. 

Regardless of when, the result is clear: I can’t remember what it’s like to not have multiple myeloma.

I’m not a poet – I haven’t written any poetry since high school.  But I would like to give it a try this month:

Do you remember when you didn’t have to live with pain
Aching bones, twitching …