I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was bothering me.

I was packed together like sardines with hundreds of other anxious runners near the starting line of a big deal marathon.

Photographers were busy capturing images that they would, in turn, share with the world.

Maybe my angst was just pre-race jitters.

Crowds lined the streets and kids held up hand-made signs to en­cour­age their favorites onward.

Anticipating the sharp report of the starter’s pistol, the athletes steeled themselves …

A group of European researchers recently published an extensive review of the imaging techniques cur­rently used in the diag­nosis and follow-up of multiple myeloma and related diseases.

The researchers assessed the benefits and limitations of several dif­fer­ent imaging techniques, in­­clud­ing traditional X-rays, computed to­mog­ra­phy (CT), com­bined positron emission to­mog­ra­phy and CT scan­ning (PET/CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

According to the researchers, the whole-body X-ray skeletal survey re­mains the method of choice for the detection of bone lesions. However, they …

I’m not exactly sure when it happened.   Maybe it changed two or three years ago. 

Regardless of when, the result is clear: I can’t remember what it’s like to not have multiple myeloma.

I’m not a poet – I haven’t written any poetry since high school.  But I would like to give it a try this month:

Do you remember when you didn’t have to live with pain
Aching bones, twitching …

All around me, spring has sprung, as Mother Nature begins anew.

Earlier this season, bright songbirds and plant-filled nurseries issued clarion calls to action, and I obeyed. I planted red, yellow, and blush colored roses. I arranged a space for three hydrangeas under the live (evergreen) oak tree, and my irises are showing signs of life. I’m excited about potential blooms and al fresco dining on cool spring nights.

But, honestly, it’s not the usual cabin fever that has me …

Over the last 10 weeks, I have spent four or five weeks in the hematology/​on­col­o­gy ward of Mt. Sinai hospital here in Manhattan.

I had reached a crisis point in my four-year battle with multiple myeloma.

The original hospitalization was for the installation of a port and admin­is­tra­tion of a treatment consisting of dexamethasone (Decadron), cyclo­phos­pha­mide (Cy­tox­an), etoposide (VP-16), and cisplatin, commonly ab­bre­vi­ated as DCEP, in a last ditch effort to get my myeloma under con­trol.

If the …

The Beacon is pleased to introduce our newest myeloma thought leader col­um­nist, Dr. Ravi Vij. Every three months, Dr. Vij will share with us a new edition of “The Myeloma Quiz,” which will test your knowledge and under­standing of the myeloma-related research published during the pre­vi­ous several months.

We hope you will join us in welcoming Dr. Vij to the Beacon community, and in thank­ing him for sharing with us his valuable perspectives.

The relentless grind in the battle …

Have you ever had a doctor break up with you?

I’ve gotten to know a lot of doctors over the past eight years. Some have been with me since my myeloma diagnosis; others have come and gone.

Before my diagnosis, I was eerily healthy. Even as a kid, I rarely had any­thing more serious than the sniffles. For most of my life, I saw a doctor once a year for my annual checkup, and that was about it. Even my …