What were the myeloma-related "hidden gems" of the recent American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting, which ended two weeks ago?

The Beacon asked exactly this question of its Medical Advisors -- the myeloma specialists who generously share their knowledge and expertise in the Beacon's myeloma discussion forum.

And the responses from the Advisors were surprising.

Surprising, because they were so similar.

The three Advisors who responded to the Beacon's question indepen­dently picked the same "hidden …

The week between Christmas and New Year is a time to appreciate, give, and celebrate. It is also a good time for reflection.

I imagine what direction my own life will take during 2012. What do I want? What can I do?

I wonder about the people who have just received a diagnosis for multiple myeloma and others who remain in treatment. I wonder about people suffering from a variety of other ailments, as many of my friends are.

People …

As the 2011 holiday season reaches it peak, all of us here at The Myeloma Beacon would like to thank you, our readers, for giving us the greatest gift possible: your time.  We appreciate your coming to The Beacon and reading our articles, sharing your thoughts about them with us, and discussing them – and many other topics! – in our forums.

The holiday season is a time of many different traditions.  It also is a busy time, when it …

It has been ten days since the 2011 annual meeting of the American Society of He­ma­tol­ogy (ASH) came to a close.

Since the meeting started, The Beacon has been providing detailed coverage in the form of discussion forum postings, daily up­dates, and in-depth articles about key re­search findings.

In this and The Beacon's next article about the meeting, how­ever, the per­spective changes a bit.

The focus shifts to the bigger picture …

Five or six years ago, I noticed that my wife was consistently biking a lot faster than I was when we took bike rides on the weekends or when I met her on her way home from work. 

So, as a 60^th birthday present to myself, I bought a very lightweight bike constructed out of space-age material in the hope that I could keep up.

Alas, the flashy new bike didn’t help: my wife continued to outpace me. She is …

On the fourth and final day of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2011 annual meeting, there was one session in the morning with a number of important myeloma-related presentations.

The key findings of those presentations are summarized in this article.

Treatment Of High-Risk Smoldering Myeloma

Dr. María-Victoria Mateos from the University Hospital in Salamanca, Spain, kicked off the session.

She gave a presentation reviewing a Phase 3 trial she and her colleagues are conducting on the treatment of high-risk …

As the third day of the 2011 American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting came to an end, attendees could look back on an agenda that featured presentations about a wide range of potential new myeloma ther­a­pies.

The afternoon myeloma sessions were focused, in fact, on potential new ther­a­pies.

The Beacon's pre­vi­ous ASH 2011 update covered the afternoon presentations about carfilzomib and pomalidomide, two potential myeloma ther­a­pies that are in the late stages of devel­op­ment.

This update covers the …