For many people who have just been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a key challenge is selecting a multiple myeloma specialist.

I did not face that challenge -- at least not initially.  I literally started treat­ment the day the diagnosis came in.

The evening before my diagnosis, after a routine checkup with my long-time family doctor in Nebraska, I got a call from the doctor’s urologist partner.

“I want you at the hospital within the hour,” the urologist said. “Stop at …

I am going to tell you something you have probably heard before, but which you may not have fully internalized.

You are in charge of your disease.

Absent mental defect or court order, you simply cannot delegate de­ci­sions about your care to anyone else; not a medical professional, not a spouse, not a friend, not a parent.

If you are going to live with multiple myeloma, you have to own the dis­ease.  You must educate yourself about it, and you …