I’m not normally a person for rules, but all that changed in June 2015 when I found myself lying in a hospital bed in Singapore. At age 57, I had just been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, and I was in a bit of a sorry state, to put it mildly.

It is hard to recall all the things that seemed to be wrong with me at the time – fever, infections, broken bones, severe backache, a hip that would no …

The holiday season is rapidly approach­ing. The chang­ing colors of the leaves on trees remind us that we will soon be bom­barded with Black Friday advertise­ments. I was surprised during a recent visit to a depart­­ment store to find that Christmas decorations are already on the shelves.

It is so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of this season and lose sight of the meaning of the first holiday of the season, Thanksgiving Day, which …

It’s been a few years now since I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, but I still continuously face the dilemma of whom to share this information with.

So far I am lucky to be (outwardly) asymptomatic and, other than the steroids helping me to get a little fatter, I don’t look any different than I did before I was diagnosed and started treatment. I therefore have the option of choosing whether or not I tell people I have multiple myeloma. …

It is autumn here now and the brilliant golds, reds, and greens combine together for the showiest nature display of the year! The sunrises are gold against the charcoal sky, and the prairie hares are changing their fur color from tawny to whitish in preparation for winter snowfalls.

Rather than spending time outside enjoying the beautiful autumn weather, I am preoccupied with a new wrinkle in my health that may or may not be related to my multiple myeloma: a …

I have been off treatment for my multiple myeloma for about six months, so I thought this would be a good time to evaluate where things stand.

First, a short recap for those who have not followed my story.

I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma at the end of June in 2013. Almost immediately, I began what turned out to be six cycles of Velcade (bor­tezo­mib), Revlimid (lenalidomide), and dexa­metha­sone (Decadron). This reg­i­men put …

I am lying in a treatment room with a large window that looks onto a fall-colored ridge. The room is crowded. My husband is with me, leaning over holding my hand, as are two familiar oncology nurses, a young phar­ma­cist, and my long-time, faithful oncologist. Everyone looks worried.

I am in the midst of experiencing fever, chills, and then the worst, vomiting. Even though I am the one with the awful symptoms, I feel the most distant. Simple nursing maneuvers …

I’m Mark Pouley, and I’m excited to join the Myeloma Beacon as a regular columnist.

I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in the spring of 2015. I’ve experi­enced a lot in the last year, learned a lot, and changed a lot. Along the way, The Beacon became an important part of my mental and physical recovery.

I’m writing this column to pay it forward by sharing my myeloma journey. The one lesson I’ve learned since my diag­nosis that …