We are having a real winter this year, and right now there is a lot of snow every­where. It is very pretty and fun to walk around in, but has caused problems with traffic and meant that my husband is doing lots of shoveling. I used to shovel the walks, but had to give that up after my multiple myeloma diagnosis in 2009. I used to like gardening too, but nowadays I can only do light weeding, planting, and watering (no mowing or digging). As much as I enjoyed doing outdoor home maintenance, weight lifting restrictions have forced me to be cautious.

Since my multiple myeloma diagnosis, lots of other things in my life have occurred – some good, and some more frustrating to me.

This is my sixtieth column, and I thought I would look back on how my diagnosis has changed my life. I asked family and friends how they thought I had changed due to having multiple myeloma.

Back in 2009, I got jolted out of any complacency about having good health and sailing into a clear blue horizon of retirement. In fact, I was challenged to learn a whole lot about a blood cancer I had only heard of slightly. I didn’t know much about any blood cancers, but got myself on a self-study course of life­long learning at that time. What I learned was fascinating, and I could forget that I was suffering from a faulty immune system as I learned more about that.

My oldest sister thinks that I have honed my grasp of the science of multiple myeloma, thanks in part to my undergraduate degree in micro­biology. She observed that I have become keen to learn more information, rather than becoming overwhelmed by it. This process has helped me to get a better under­stand­ing of multiple myeloma treatments. Now I can even read the scientific papers that are presented at medical meet­ings with some degree of under­stand­ing.

My sister also thought that I learned to face my fears, which was true. You can’t imagine how terrified I was to learn that I had multiple myeloma. Now, eight years later, I am more comfortable with the situation.

I do have a very deep respect for the disease and the damage it can wreak on a person. As a result, my life­style has changed somewhat. I try to keep healthy by eating moderately and exer­cising.

I have always tried to follow a healthy diet, but, as an example, I have given up diet drinks because I read that they may have carcinogens in them. To say I was paranoid about everything right after my diagnosis would be an under­state­ment. I am more relaxed now, but still cautious.

I had to change my mode of exer­cising after having compression fractures. Whereas I used to lift weights at the gym, I eased that back to really light weights (under 10 pounds). I don’t jog or ski anymore. I now enjoy walking, have tried snowshoeing, and am at home in a swimming pool. I have also added stretching exer­cises and beginner’s yoga to my repertoire after feeling very stiff and sore following the recent surgeries and radiation treatments for my breast cancer. I hope that these measures will help me in my life­long battle with the disease.

I also found that multiple myeloma and the treatments for it have impacted my stamina. As I got busier with family matters over the past couple of years, I couldn’t keep up with some other activities.

In addition, having to deal with side effects of drugs and other treatments has made me wary of extending myself too far. I therefore am not likely to try to change careers at this stage in my life, since I am comfortable with working from home, as I usually do. I now also worry about travelling on my own, for example, since I’m not sure I could handle any potential complications (health-related or otherwise) by myself any more.

I also had to drop away from some activities after my diagnosis, when I stopped participating in my choir for a year and didn’t even show up at the gym for months. Gradually over time, however, I have been able to get back to the interests I do for fun and for fitness.

Since my diagnosis, I also have gotten quite involved with the myeloma community. I have met many won­der­ful, brave people, and have worked on interesting projects. I consider the patients and caregivers in my local area, as well as the Beacon community, to be part of my support, and try to pay back for the help I have re­ceived. Sometimes I find it to be too intense, especially when we lose someone to the disease. So I strive to keep a balance in life, between family, interests, and my myeloma-related volunteering.

Physically, I am older, grayer, and an inch shorter than I was eight years ago. I stopped dyeing my hair after my diagnosis, since I wondered if the hair dye was carcinogenic. My daughters actually like my natural color the best.

The injuries that led to my myeloma diagnosis caused me to lose a bit of height, so naturally I had to go out and get a whole new style of wardrobe to suit me now.

And, to be honest, I am glad to be older and hope I have gained some maturity because of my experiences. My youngest sister says that I have a keener appreciation for the good things in my life, such as my family, the beautiful environment, reading, writing, sewing, singing, and travelling with my husband. Each day holds something positive for me since I am so glad to have survived my health issues so far. Perhaps selfishly, I make sure that I do something I enjoy every day, be it reading, working on a hobby, or babysitting my won­der­ful grandchildren.

When I asked some friends about how I had changed since my diagnosis, they said that I am more patient now. One dear friend, a retired nurse, thinks I am a Pollyanna. Maybe I had that tendency before the myeloma diagnosis, but it was untested since I was not sick or injured except for a few months before that.

Another friend says that basically I am the same friend that I was before I got multiple myeloma, which I very much appreciated hearing.

How has your diagnosis affected you?

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The quotation for this month is from Yo-Yo Ma (1955 - ), a Chinese American cellist, who said: "As you begin to realize that every different type of music, everybody's individual music, has its own rhythm, life, language, and heritage, you realize how life changes, and you learn how to be more open and adaptive to what is around us."