This year’s meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) was held May 31 through June 4 in Chicago.

During the meeting, The Beacon pub­lished daily up­dates that provided over­views of the im­por­tant mul­ti­ple myeloma findings pre­sented during the meeting.

Now that the meeting has concluded, the focus shifts to the bigger picture: What were the key findings of the meeting? Were there re­­sults with im­medi­ate im­pli­ca­­tions for the treat­ment of mul­ti­ple myeloma?  Did the re­search …

A couple of months ago, I wrote a column about how my multiple myeloma treatments over the last couple of years have made any kind of planning ahead almost impossible. For better or for worse, my treatments have forced me to truly live life one day at a time.

There is a corollary to the “one day at a time” mantra. Lately, I have been “waiting for the next shoe to drop.”

I am now 10 months out from …

Findings from a recent Phase 2 clinical study of a multiple myeloma vaccine indicate that the vaccine deepens responses following autologous stem cell transplantation.

Almost half of the patients in the trial achieved a complete response and almost another third achieved a very good partial response after vaccination.

The investigators state that these response rates compare favorably to initial therapy with Revlimid (lenalidomide) or Velcade (bortezomib) followed by stem cell transplantation.

Based on their results, the …

At this time last month, I was preparing to undergo hip replacement surgery.  One month later, I’m pleased to report that the surgery was an awesome success!

I went home two days after my surgery, two days ahead of schedule.  I was walking without a cane in five days and without a limp in ten. And although I still get a bit sore after walking up a long flight of stairs or working out, the pain is far less than …

This year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), which was held in Chicago, began on Friday and concluded on Tuesday.

Monday was the busiest day at the meeting with regard to myeloma re­search.  It featured a session of oral pre­sen­ta­tions in the morn­ing and a poster session in the afternoon.

This up­date summarizes the myeloma-related stud­ies pre­sented during the afternoon poster session, which was the final myeloma-related session of the meeting. An earlier article covered the findings from the …

This year’s annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) came to an end yesterday in Chicago.

Monday was the busiest day with regard to myeloma-related research. The day started with an oral presentation session that in­cluded eight talks about im­por­tant new myeloma-related research. A poster session in the afternoon in­cluded several posters about myeloma-related research.

This article summarizes the most im­por­tant findings from Monday's oral pre­sen­ta­tion session. A later article will cover the findings from the after­noon …

As I entered the waiting room at the Bone Marrow Biopsy clinic and plunked myself down in the only available chair, the animated conversation was soon directed at me.

The woman apparently leading the discussion peered at me over the reading half-glasses perched on her nose, leaned forward, and brusquely uttered:

“Answer this for us. Can a person be ‘happy’ with multiple myeloma? Well?”

The now silent strangers looked my way as the ceiling lights seemed to grow hotter and …