The word “port” has multiple definitions, ranging from a rich, fortified wine, to the left side of a ship, to a town or city where ships load and unload cargo. Cleveland, Ohio, has a port. So does Portland, Oregon, despite being 90 miles inland. During a storm, ships seek a port – preferably a safe one – and are willing to settle for the proverbial “any port” in which to ride out the bad weather.

“Port” can also mean an access to …

Happy New Year to all! I am so hoping that all of us have a good year.

I am a bit compulsive about making lists, and I work from lists on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. This is the time of year, however, when I put together a very special list: my New Year’s resolutions!

The focus of my New Year’s resolutions has been shifting over the years, especially since my multiple myeloma diagnosis more than six years ago …

It's December 2015 as I write this, and I am enjoying my in-between time.

For me, in-between times are the months between treatments – times when I can almost forget that I have multiple myeloma.

I have been in and out of a variety of treatments since I relapsed in 2013. The good news is that all the treatments worked for a while. The bad news is that all the treatments worked only for a while, or the side …

Having lived with multiple myeloma for several years now, my journey has come to a fairly quiet period. For this I am truly grateful. While I try NOT to think about the disease as often as possible, I have been largely un­suc­cess­ful in my attempts.

Such was the case just this last week:

Our plan was simple. After a challenging year and a typically hectic holiday, my family and I took a quick post-Christmas getaway trip to relax with relatives …

Patience is not one of my virtues.

I was reminded of this as I began my Christmas shopping five days earlier than normal. I waited 20 minutes to get a smoothie at our local fast food restaurant. It is because of waits like these and my lack of patience that I normally do my Christ­mas shopping on Christmas Eve day.

There is little traffic, the stores are not crowded, the lines at the gift wrap­ping kiosks are not long, and …

My husband Daniel and I love visiting New York City at Christmas time. No other city seems to decorate quite so well, and we find all the festivity is just what the doctor ordered to get us in the holiday spirit.

We made our familiar pilgrimage to New York earlier this month, and we visited a major department store to see the holiday windows and all the decorations they had hanging inside.

The store’s theme this year is Believe in …

As the 2015 holiday season reaches it peak, all of us here at The Myeloma Beacon would like to thank you, our readers and members of the myeloma community worldwide, for giving us the greatest gift possible: your time. 

We appreciate your coming to The Beacon and reading our articles, letting us know your thoughts about them, and sharing your experiences and helping one another in our discussion forum.

The holiday season is a time of many different traditions. It also …