It is February, and with it comes Valentine’s Day, the day on which we cherish our loved ones. And I have many people in my life who I cherish. As it has turned out in recent years, we have leaned on and tried to help each other through many difficult times.

First and foremost, I am grateful for my husband Dilip. We have been married for 40 years now and can look back on many great times to­gether. We met …

At the end of January, there was an eclipse of the Moon that was described by more adjectives than I have ever seen for one before: a “blue blood supermoon” eclipse.

The event brought to mind what was, for me, definitely one of the highlights of 2017, and one with obscure parallels to multiple myeloma: the August eclipse of the Sun.

I had to travel to the Pacific Northwest for a space conference that was scheduled to start …

When I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, the condition had progressed into the full-blown form of the disease. It was advanced myeloma (stage 3) that had to be treated immediately. As I've described in previous columns, I was in a bad way, with bone damage, lung damage, and biochemistry all over the place. Fortunately, I responded well to the treatment I received, and I am now in remission.

Once I returned to better health and became more knowledgeable about multiple …

Back in the late fall, I started going to a yoga class one evening a week. I did it in part be­cause I thought it might do me some good and in part be­cause I have known the instructor since she was in high school and dated my younger son. Either reason, yoga was a whole new experience for me.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Let me clarify what kind of yoga class this is. This is not “hot yoga.” …

The alarm yanks me from my dreams and I rub my eyes to help them focus. It’s 5:15 a.m. and I need to get moving. I hate getting up this early, but the cancer center is an hour's drive away, even early on a Saturday, and my blood draw is at 7:00 a.m. I rationalize the early start knowing I want to get my treatment done and out of the way.

Even though I’m not awake enough to feel hungry, …

Since I wrote my last column, winter harshly arrived with a stretch of low tem­per­a­tures that were colder than those at the North Pole. We had a heavy snowfall, which brightened up the environment even as we shivered a lot outdoors. It warmed up again in the last week to above freezing during the day, but we are not finished with winter yet.

Because my path with multiple myeloma has not been straightforward, or even predictable, I thought I would …

This is the time of year when we are looking for something. Perhaps you were one of the millions with your eyes fixed on a glimmering ball, counting down to the moment it would make its descent into our mortal space and start us off to a new year. Maybe you looked for victory as you cheered on your favorite team in a bowl game. Or, possibly you’re looking toward the Epiphany, to celebrate three Magi who followed a star …