On Easter morning, I woke up way before the roosters clocked in for duty and made my way through the heavily wooded hollow toward the Ozark mountain lake, which sits a long stone’s throw from my home.

I carefully perched myself on a flat outcropping of limestone table rock set high above the quiet waters and gazed at the star-washed sky as it slowly surrendered to the yellow-orange of the approaching dawn.

For me, there is something peaceful, even spiritual, …

Results from a recent retrospective study indicate that chromosomal ab­nor­mal­ities may be useful for predicting which smoldering myeloma patients have a higher risk of progressing to active, or symptomatic, multiple myeloma.

Specifically, researchers from the Mayo Clinic found that patients with a chromo­somal abnormality known as t(4;14) progressed to myeloma faster, and had shorter survival compared to patients with other chromo­somal abnormalities.

“This study shows that risk of progression from smoldering multiple myeloma to symptomatic multiple myeloma is affected by …

So far, 2013 has been a difficult year for me — innumerable visits to the hospital for infusions, blood tests, PET scans, x-rays, consults, two bouts of pneumonia, and unending stomach distress to cap off the experience.

Using my electronic calendar, I counted 13 visits to the hospital over a five-week period, seven of which were all-day affairs.

But hallelujah for broad spectrum antibiotics, which seemed to start working within hours of taking them. And kudos too to an alert …

Long-term results from a European study indicate that an autologous stem cell transplant followed by a reduced-intensity donor transplant may lead to better survival outcomes in multiple myeloma patients than either a single autologous transplant or two back-to-back autologous transplants.

After a median follow-up of eight years, patients who received an autologous stem cell transplant followed by a reduced-intensity donor (allogeneic) stem cell transplant had higher progression-free and overall survival rates than patients who received either a single autologous transplant …

It has been some time since we’ve been in touch, and from the perspective of Team Beat The H*ll Outta Multiple Myeloma, that is a good thing.  There’s just not much to report as we settle further into the “new normal.”

While there is still much I am interested in sharing, it is time to bring this column to a conclusion.

I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to write a column for The Myeloma Beacon.  I also remain inspired by …

Looking back at all that has hap­pened in the world of mul­ti­ple myeloma since Jan­u­ary of 2012, it is hard not to be impressed by the many im­por­tant devel­op­ments that took place.

There is the obvious fact that, during that time, not one, but two new drugs to treat myeloma were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis­tra­tion (FDA).  Prior to 2012, the FDA had not approved a novel anti-myeloma ther­apy in over six years.

Yet 2012 was meaningful …

Most (if not all) of us know that treating cancer is not cheap.

During my first year of treatment, my insurance was billed approximately $250,000, which covered blood tests, x-rays, bone marrow biopsies, stem cell collection, appointments, infusions, and other various and sundry expenses throughout the year.  Since I was part of a clinical trial, the costs of Revlimid (lenalidomide) and Kyprolis (carfilzomib) were not billed, otherwise the cost would have been almost doubled.

During my …