Living with multiple myeloma for the last decade, I have tunnel vision. It’s myeloma this, myeloma that. It’s the oncology appointment every five weeks, the bottle of Revlimid (lenalidomide) on the table, the peripheral neuropathy, the blood draws, the whole nine yards of myeloma. Even this column: myeloma, oncology, death, and treatment. Myeloma, myeloma, myeloma.

Tunnel vision.

Not that myeloma isn’t a major factor in my life. I’m not suggesting that a little positive thinking or a …

The days are getting much shorter here in the Northern Hemisphere, and we are approaching another solstice. This is a time of cheerful lights, caroling songs, and celebrating with family and friends.

It is also the time for spiritual reflection on the end of one year and the birth of a new one.

As part of this reflection, I would like to share some of my ‘grown up’ wishes for the myeloma community.

At the very top …

This past Sunday was the second day of the American Society of Hema­tology’s (ASH) annual meeting, which was held in San Francisco.

As on the first day of the meeting, myeloma-related pre­sen­ta­tions once again took place during several sessions through­out the day.

A myeloma-related education session held the first day of the conference was repeated once again on Sunday morning.

While the education session was being held, a separate “scientific sym­po­sium” with two oral pre­sen­ta­tions took place in parallel.  The …

Saturday was the official first day of the 2014 American Society of Hema­tology (ASH) annual meeting. The day featured a wide range of in­ter­est­ing pre­sen­ta­tions about mul­ti­ple myeloma.

Oral pre­sen­ta­tions about new treat­ments under devel­op­ment were given mid-day and were summarized in a Beacon ASH Daily Update published yes­ter­day morn­ing.

During Saturday evening, a poster session took place where im­por­tant new re­search findings were summarized in posters dis­played throughout two separate large conference halls.

The stud­ies covered a variety of …

This year’s meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) began yesterday morning in San Francisco.

Myeloma-related presentations were made during several sessions throughout the day.

The day started out with a session designed to better educate physicians about multiple myeloma and how to treat the disease.

Two sessions of oral presentations devoted solely to multiple myeloma ran simultaneously in the middle of the day. One of the sessions focused on the biology of the disease. The other one included …

The 2014 annual meeting of the American Society of He­ma­tol­ogy (ASH) starts tomorrow, De­cem­ber 5, in San Francisco, and will con­tinue until next Tuesday.

The ASH annual meeting is one of sev­er­al large med­i­cal conferences where myeloma-related re­search findings are pre­sented each year.  However, from a mul­ti­ple myeloma perspective, the ASH meeting is generally the most im­por­tant of the meetings.

At this year’s meeting, for example, some 500 myeloma-presentations are scheduled to take place.  The pre­sen­ta­tions will summarize cur­rent re­search …

It’s the holiday season. Cut through the slick marketing and commer­cial­ism, and it should be a time to give thanks and spend time with friends and family.

For me, living with multiple myeloma makes every day bittersweet. It can be hard to stay positive, especially this time of year. I’ll admit it: thoughts of possibly missing future holidays – and time with those I love – some­times makes it challenging for me to focus on all of the good things.

But that’s the point. There are …