In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the first of the Oz series, any traveler to the Emerald City must put on a pair of green spectacles, which are then locked in place. These are required to shade one’s eyes from the brilliant green glow.

In Cancerland, the color of the glasses is rose.

After a holiday from treatment of almost two months – longer than my myeloma specialist wanted, but shorter than Tim, my primary oncologist, wanted – I resumed treatment …

Happy Birthday to me!

On July 22, 2016, the medical team at my transplant center infused my own stem cells back into my body. Only two days before, I received a massive and otherwise deadly dose of the chemotherapy drug melphalan. This was day one of my recovery from that treatment and, hopefully, an end to the myeloma cells that invaded my body.

I’m pleased to announce on this anniversary that all reports are positive.

It amazes me that it’s …

It’s late, and I’m working on my column. My husband, Daniel, has just retired to bed, so I step away to perform my ritual “security sweep.”

I check the locks and the deadbolts on the doors. I turn on the security alarm, check the exterior flood lights, and turn off extraneous indoor lights. I think to myself, “How can he sleep like a rock behind an unlocked door? I can’t even type another word in my column, much less …

In mid-July, I went hiking with my husband and a visiting cousin from Los Angeles. We decided to hike to Parker Ridge, in Banff National Park, even though it is a 187-mile (300 km) drive from Calgary. We hadn't hiked this path since 2008, when we were driving from Jasper National Park to Calgary, along with my mother.

There were several reasons why it had taken us so long to return after a nine-year gap, apart from the distance …

“If your time to you
Is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changing.”

With these lyrics to his well-known song, “The Times They Are A-Changin,” Bob Dylan spoke about the unrest of the 1960’s. The tune, first released in 1964, is still a useful way to talk about my life today.

You see, no matter how hard I try, life keeps changing.

Change is just …

As I mentioned in my last column, my husband and I have recently returned to our home in Scotland after having lived in Southeast Asia for many years. It is lovely to be back home, and I really appreciate being able to be outside in the fresh, clean, Scottish air.

One of the very first things which we have done since returning is build a summer house at the top of our garden. This little summer house gives me …

The philosopher sportsman Yogi Berra once said: “It's tough to make pre­dic­tions, especially about the future.”

Of course, Berra also is quoted as saying “I never said most of the things I said,” so perhaps the quote about predictions is only apocryphal. It is, how­ever, one of his most famous sayings, alongside “It’s like déjà vu all over again” and “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

I would agree that it is certainly …