The end of the year provides a great time for review and reflection.

2012 has been a momentous one for me in my journey with myeloma. It included both difficult and awe-inspiring moments.

I went off chemotherapy in February in preparation for a stem cell transplant. I have not been back on it since then. No more exciting steroid “highs” - but no more steroid rages either!

In early March, I underwent a stem cell transplant. I lost …

I’m writing this column a few days before Thanksgiving, on a bright and glorious fall day.

There’s a little excitement in the air, as we prepare to take the train to Washington D.C. to have a traditional Thanksgiving meal with our extended family. We are eager for the trip, as this is a year we are especially aware of how much we have to be thankful for.

It’s cool outside, but I’m using a computer in a warm, well-lit room …

A few weeks ago, I underwent an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of my spine. This procedure is not unusual for multiple myeloma patients. The MRI generates images of bones and organs and can be used to determine the presence and status of cancerous lesions in myeloma patients’ bones.

After my autologous stem cell transplant in March, I had developed painful carpal tunnel syndrome in my hands and wrists. My hematologist ordered an MRI to rule out spinal cord lesions as …

This past spring, much of the northeastern United States had an unusual hot spell. In New York City, the spring trees and shrubs burst into bloom in March, a month ahead of time. I spent most of that month in the hospital undergoing a stem cell transplant, isolated from the extraordinary weather.

The first few days in the hospital, I had a glimmer of Central Park through the hallway windows. From my eleventh floor perch, I looked longingly at the …

Before I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2010, medical science was not my field of expertise, but rather my wife’s. She is a pediatric endocrinologist and had taught me about pediatric diabetes and other metabolic disorders.  

I, on the other hand, was an expert in municipal law. I also had developed an expertise in construction accidents because, for eight years, I had been working with a New York City government agency that regulated construction. I was responsible for editing …

Three months have passed since I left the hospital after my stem cell transplant. 

I am in a quiet and watchful time period, regrouping my energy and my brain cells for the next phase of my life. 

I have been regularly delighted by being able to return to “normal” activities such as shaving and an occasional visit to the barber. While my barber doesn’t have much work to do on my head, he is a phenomenally upbeat guy and entertains …

As you may remember from my previous column, I was admitted to the hospital for my stem cell transplant at the beginning of March (on March 5 to be exact).

I had no initial devastating reaction to the melphalan (Alkeran) that I received on the day of admission or the infusion of my stem cells over the following two days.

While my first 10 to 11 days were certainly not pleasant, they weren’t “off the charts” bad either. …