A couple of months ago, I wrote a column about how my multiple myeloma treatments over the last couple of years have made any kind of planning ahead almost impossible. For better or for worse, my treatments have forced me to truly live life one day at a time.

There is a corollary to the “one day at a time” mantra. Lately, I have been “waiting for the next shoe to drop.”

I am now 10 months out from my unrelated donor (allogeneic) stem cell trans­plant, and it has been a …

This month, my column is actually written by my daughter Dori, who expressed interest in writing an article from her perspective.  I am, of course, proud of her for doing this.

Dori was in fourth grade when I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.  She is now 17 years old and a junior in high school.  She loves fashion, travel, and writing.  My number one priority is to make sure I am around for her graduation a year from now.

For those who are wondering, though, I am doing pretty well right now. …

One of the most common clichés in the cancer world is “one day at a time.”  However, I think that it is human nature to look ahead, to plan, to envision where you will be at a certain point in time.

We all have things that we are looking forward to: events, milestones, and trips.

I’m planning to go to Washington, D.C., in two weeks to visit my son. I’d like to take that big trip in 3 months. I’ve got that big wedding anniversary party for my parents coming up in …

From time to time, I will run into an acquaintance who is vaguely familiar with my situation but not really aware of all the details.  They will often ask, “Are you back to work these days?”

I usually will respond with something like. “I’m busy enough just taking care of my health.”  This is true, but an oversimplification.

The unfortunate reality is that I have become a full-time multiple myeloma patient.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. I never felt like that was part of the original plan.

When I was …

In the column I wrote two months ago, I relayed how I was doing 100 days after my allogeneic (donor) stem cell transplant.

I struck a pretty optimistic note.  I felt that the transplant itself had gone really well and that the big question that was still out there was whether it would work to control my multiple myeloma for a meaningful amount of time.

Unfortunately, I may have gotten my answer sooner than I expected.

I was really hoping 2013 was going to be a better year healthwise than 2012. …

When I stopped working due to my multiple myeloma, my biggest concern was how I was going to maintain my health insurance.

Through a deal I negotiated with my partners, I was able to stay on our group health plan for a while.  When my former group merged with a larger group, this option was no longer available.  Since the group plan was being dissolved, COBRA insurance was also not available.

After much anxiety and research, I discovered that since coverage was continuous and COBRA insurance was not available, I was eligible …

One of the big things that you hear about with any transplant, but especially with the allogeneic (donor transplant), is that it is critical to get past the first 100 days.

Whenever friends would ask after my transplant when I could relax a little about going out, eating, and life in general, the answer was always, “After the first 100 days.”

I recently passed the famous 100-day mark.

I have to tell you, I didn’t hear any trumpets go off or notice any marching bands.  It turns out, in fact, that for …