Throughout 2012, multiple myeloma patients and caregivers have continued to graciously share their personal experiences with myeloma in columns they wrote for The Beacon.

In the past year, there was a new addition to The Beacon's columnists, who began her column describing the events leading up to her diagnosis. Several columnists took a chronological approach and wrote about their recent myeloma-related happenings, including recent lab results, changes to their current treatment regimen, or how they have been doing lately.   …

One of my favorite sayings is a Chinese proverb that I have previously quoted here, but it is worth mentioning again. “It is easy to get a thousand prescriptions, but hard to get one single remedy.”

Wandering through life with my partner, multiple myeloma, has been a call for just the right gifts to help me along. Finding what we need to thrive is a mysterious task – trusting that these right gifts will come our way may be the …

Results from a recent study indicate that the two leading models for classifying smoldering myeloma patients based on their risk of disease progression disagree significantly more often than they agree.

The two models were developed independently by researchers at the Mayo Clinic and the Spanish 'PETHEMA' working group.

Given the results of their comparison, the authors of the current study argue that further studies are needed to define a more broadly applicable set of criteria to assess a smoldering myeloma …

Findings from a retrospective study of stem cell transplantation among U.S. and Canadian multiple myeloma patients show that the technique has become more common in the past 15 years.

In addition, the outcomes associated with the procedure have improved over time.

“There was progressively improved survival for multiple myeloma patients managed with autologous stem cell transplantation as an initial therapy,” said Dr. Luciano Costa from the Medical University of South Carolina, who presented the results at the American Society for …

Early in 2012, The Myeloma Beacon published its first annual review of the previous year's most popular news articles.  The review described 2011 as a year "filled with important multiple myeloma-related news."

The same can be said for 2012.

During 2012, a new drug, Kyprolis, was approved for the treatment of multiple myeloma; researchers presented new findings about other potential new treatments; experts learned more about the factors that influence a patient's prognosis; second cancers as a results …

The end of this month marks my second anniversary since being diagnosed with multiple myeloma.  It's also the end of my induction therapy - a two-year clinical trial with Kyprolis (carfilzomib), Revlimid (lenalidomide), and dexa­metha­sone, commonly referred to as CRD, for newly diagnosed patients.

What a long, strange trip it's been - one I'll reflect on briefly for those who aren't familiar with it, then I'll pass along a few tidbits I …

Results of a Canadian retrospective analysis indicate that multiple myeloma patients who develop one or more new monoclonal proteins (M-spikes) after stem cell transplantation may have improved progression-free and overall survival compared to those without a new M-spike.

Myeloma cells overproduce a single type of antibody, known as a monoclonal or M-protein. Different types of myeloma are classified according to the type of M-protein the patient’s myeloma cells produce.

When a patient’s original M-spike disappears and an M-spike of a …