Recently I saw an advertisement that discussed the importance of “inte­gra­tive medicine” as an approach to the treat­ment of cancer. It advocated a mind-body-spirit approach to treatment that includes medi­ta­tion, nutri­tion, and alter­na­tive therapies as well as the traditional medicines.

It seems that this approach has gained steam in recent years. When my mother was being treated for ovarian cancer in the 1990s, her treat­ment options were very dif­fer­ent than my husband’s options are today. At his cancer re­search hos­pi­tal, I was …

I’ve always had an overactive imagination. It was fun when I was a kid and I could live in the Land of Oz. It’s not so fun now when I’m waiting for my monthly test results.

Things were much worse in the olden days (2005), when I was first diagnosed with smoldering multiple myeloma. I’d never had a serious illness before, so I had very little experience with doctors outside of a regular checkup. I didn’t really understand how doctors’ …

One of my responsibilities as a school superintendent is to check the roads during inclement weather to determine whether school should be delayed or closed.

During a recent early-morning road check through thick, patchy fog, I couldn't help but think that making decisions about delaying or closing school due to fog is similar to living a life with multiple myeloma.

The arrival of fog is often completely unexpected and, unlike with snow and ice storms, I rarely receive a weather …

The young woman looked at me with concern in her eyes. “So how are you handling this? Do you feel you are coping okay? Is there anything we can provide you?”

No, this was not a social worker at the oncology clinic I frequent. I was not being asked these questions as a patient at all. I was being asked these questions as a caregiver for my elderly aunt.

I have been my Aunt Ginger’s caregiver, first informally, then …

I relapsed six or seven months ago. That fact was made painfully clear when I broke a rib getting into my wife’s car; several new lesions had weakened the ribs on my right side.

I assumed the acute pain was caused by the fracture. While I’m sure the break contributed to my discomfort, it turns out that one of the lesions was pressing on a nerve that runs along the underside of my rib cage. My medical oncologist immediately consulted with my radiation …

The day you find out you have multiple myeloma is obvi­ous­ly one of the hardest days in your life.

It is a very personal experience, but I’m sure you can remember your feel­ings of shock, fear, disbelief, or anger when you were told that you have multiple my­e­lo­ma. Some of you may have felt relief that you have put a face on the mystery.

What follows that day can have a profound im­pact on the rest of our …

A few weeks ago, a letter arrived in the mail from the Provincial Motor Vehicles Department. I was puzzled, since my driver’s license doesn’t expire until 2017. The letter contained a notice about renewing my ‘handicapped’ parking pass. My husband Dilip had gotten the pass for us after the catastrophic events five years ago, when I had back injuries so severe I could barely walk for even a short distance.

I don’t use that pass anymore. To be honest, …