Before I was diag­nosed with multiple myeloma, I don’t think I had ever really thought about the idea of an illness scale, with some illnesses being ‘higher’ on the scale than others. It is difficult to explain exactly what I mean, so I will start out with some examples.

If, for example, you had a cold, you’d probably agree that it would be much worse to have influenza. If you had a disease, or con­di­tion, that could be treated and cured, you would be likely to cope with it more easily than …

When I wrote my first column for the Myeloma Beacon, I talked about the rules I invented to try to help me survive both the process of induction ther­apy and the stem cell trans­plant.

There were three rules.

First, do exactly what the doctor and all the nursing staff tell you to do.

Second, make as little fuss as possible.

Third, look forward and not back.

They were pretty simple rules, and I think keeping to them helped me to survive that time in one piece, more or less.

Last week …

I am not sure if I’ve always been a worrier or not. I think my worrying has been, and maybe still is, in the normal range of worrying, but of course it is rather difficult to tell.

As I’ve mentioned before, prior to being diag­nosed with multiple myeloma, there was a long period of time when I had a lot of unpleasant symp­toms, including back pain, rib pain, and periph­eral neu­rop­athy, to name a few.

Doctors and other medical professionals with whom I consulted at that time told me that I should …

I’ve recently returned from a walking safari in northern Kenya. The words that best describe how I feel about our trip are simply: thank you, or in the Samburu language, ashe oleng.

It was an unwritten, unexpressed dream of mine for such a long time to return to this beautiful land and its people. Ever since my multiple myeloma diag­nosis in 2015, I’ve almost been frightened to think that it might be possible. But it has happened, and I am so thankful.

It was very dif­fi­cult to know if I would be …

I’m not sure if my husband Graham and I had any definite plans for how to spend our first year post retirement.

In the pre-myeloma days, I think we often talked about traveling more and spending more time together doing the things we love to do. My multiple myeloma diag­nosis turned everything upside down for a while. Our plans shifted to much more day-to-day things, such as doctor visits, man­agement of treat­ment side effects, and the hope of better health.

As I’ve said before, I was lucky and recovered well from my …

Having multiple myeloma is quite a big thing. Being diagnosed with the disease certainly is one of the biggest things that has happened to me. It’s a big deal that we sufferers, and our loved ones, live with every day.

For me, multiple myeloma often permeates my thoughts even when I try to drive it away. Sometimes I’m having a chat with friends, and I’m feeling much like everyone else, but then The Big Thing gets in the way. I find that I can get upset about the way in which …

Perhaps it sounds a bit cheesy, but I get great pleasure when I make, or think I make, other people happy. This may just be a simple char­ac­ter­istic of being human, but it's certainly some­thing that matters a lot to me. It's great fun when you seem to succeed, and it's lovely to plan for your next 'attack'!

I'm not talking about fancy gifts or huge sur­prises, just little gestures, or maybe notes of thanks and love.

Having multiple myeloma doesn't change this in a negative way at all. In fact, I …