The results of a small British study may lead to fewer myeloma patients suf­fer­ing from diarrhea while taking Revlimid.

In a short article published last week, researchers from the Royal Marsden Hospital in London report that a condition known as “bile acid mal­ab­sorp­tion” appears to be a frequent cause of the diarrhea experi­enced by some patients during treatment with Revlimid (lena­lido­mide).

The researchers also found that the bile acid mal­ab­sorp­tion and re­sult­ing diarrhea in these patients can be …

Last month, my husband and I attended the first performance of the season of the Alberta Ballet, the classical ballet "Don Quixote."

Our regional ballet company put on quite an ambitious production, with Don Quixote riding a live horse onto the stage, which to me was a typically western gesture.

The ballet reminded me that I wanted to read the novel "Don Quixote" because the phrase ‘tilting at windmills’ had lodged in my brain, and I thought it might have …

It seems that panobinostat’s review by the U.S. Food and Drug Ad­min­is­tra­tion (FDA) may be on track after all.

A spokeswoman for Novartis (NYSE:NVS), the Swiss pharmaceutical company that is developing panobinostat as a potential new myeloma therapy, has told The Beacon that, contrary to a Beacon report published yesterday, there has not been a delay in the FDA’s review of the drug’s marketing application.

With panobinostat’s review proceeding according to the expected time­table, there need not …

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is giving itself an extra two to three months to decide whether to approve panobinostat as a new treatment for mul­ti­ple myeloma.

The FDA had been expected to reach a decision on the panobinostat new drug application by last Tuesday.  Now, however, a decision is unlikely to occur until the end of November or sometime in December.

The Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis (NYSE:NVS) filed an ap­pli­ca­tion with the FDA in March …

During my six-year wrestling match with multiple myeloma, I have been blessed to have had some wonderfully encouraging people stand in my corner.

Today I learned that one of those folks, the ‘Madman of Rock n’ Roll,’ Paul Revere of Paul Revere and the Raiders fame, passed away peacefully after a protracted battle with cancer.

A savvy, successful businessman and talented entertainer, Paul was one of the nicest guys I have ever had the pleasure of working with. He was …

Last month, I wrote about undergoing radiation therapy on both hips. I thought this month I would pass along how I’m doing in other ways.

First, the numbers.  My doublet therapy of Pomalyst (pomalidomide; Imnovid) and dexamethasone (Decadron) has now held my M-spike steady for two full months. The problem is that, even though my M-spike hovers around 0.6 g/dL (6 g/L), I get the distinct, painful feeling that lesions are continuing to develop and get worse.

The radiation …

It is familiar cliché. “If you are going to talk the talk, you have to walk the walk.”

I am not sure of the origin of this phrase, but you see it most often in the context of athletics. Athletes who brag about their skills, the phrase argues, must live up to their boasts.

I had a different topic planned for this month’s column, but recent events caused me to change course and consider the importance of walking the walk. …