My August column was going to be funny (well, maybe at least amusing). My oncologist made such an off the wall statement at my July appoint­ment re­gard­ing mammals and my sudden inexplicable weight loss (never a good sign) that I had pretty much written the column in my head as I drove home from Chicago following our Big Road Trip.

(For those of you wondering after last month’s column, it was a great road trip. It absolutely wore me …

In my new life five years following my myeloma diag­nosis, I am still coming to grips with what it means to me to have a cancer that could flare up again at any time.

The fact that I have my blood tested for myeloma markers every three months, and meet with my on­colo­gist shortly thereafter to go over the results of these tests, tells me that this is not just idle speculation.

While I try to just relax and …

Amgen has given a first glimpse of key results from its FOCUS Phase 3 clinical trial testing Kyprolis in re­lapsed and refractory multiple myeloma patients.

The com­pany reported this past Wednesday that Kyprolis did not provide an over­all survival advantage in the trial, which is being con­ducted out­side the United States.

In addi­tion, the com­pany noted that patients treated with Kyprolis during the trial experienced more kidney-related side effects than patients who were not treated with the drug.

Up until …

Football season is coming up fast, and as a former (very former) player and lifelong fan, I can’t wait! It’s just the excuse I need to sit on the sofa in a chemo fog and not think about what else I could or should be doing.

In Hawaii, televised football games start at about 7:00 a.m. in the morning, so I can waste five hours and still have time to take the kids to the beach in the afternoon.

Amazingly, …

Another valued voice of the myeloma community has been lost.

Stephen P. Kramer, author of the Beacon column “Manhattan Tales,” passed away last Friday, August 8, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Stephen was 66 years old, and was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in early 2010.

At the time of his diagnosis, Stephen was working as Chief of Staff and Special Counsel to the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Buildings. This position was the …

Most people avoid doing chores, whether it be washing dishes, mowing the lawn, doing laundry, or walking the dog. But for me, daily tasks are a joy.

I take great pleasure in the simple things. Routine is a welcome respite. I enjoy spending time around the house, chipping away at the “honey do” list – writing my column, or working on my next book with our dog, Finnegan, lying at my feet.

It wasn’t always this way. I dreaded the mundane and repetitive tasks …

It was New Year’s Eve 2008, and I was hunkered down in a small one-bedroom apartment that I’d rented in Little Rock during my ten-month clinical trial for mul­ti­ple myeloma.

My wife Karen was splitting her time between looking after me in Arkansas and being with our two young daughters – and keeping her teaching job – back home in Missouri. I hadn’t seen the kiddos since I’d begun my medical ad­ven­tures nearly a month earlier.

Having spent the Christmas holidays with …