Perhaps the title of this column more appropriately should be "Life After CRD," since I've now completed 24 cycles of Kyprolis (carfilzomib), Revlimid (lena­lido­mide), and dexa­metha­sone (Decadron), commonly referred to as CRD, as part of a clinical trial for newly diagnosed patients.

However, since dexa­metha­sone seemed to be the predominate source of my side effects, and be­cause I liked the play on words, I went with the title as shown.

So, I've completed the clinical trial, I've reached stringent complete response, and I've won the first …

The end of this month marks my second anniversary since being diagnosed with multiple myeloma.  It's also the end of my induction therapy - a two-year clinical trial with Kyprolis (carfilzomib), Revlimid (lenalidomide), and dexa­metha­sone, commonly referred to as CRD, for newly diagnosed patients.

What a long, strange trip it's been - one I'll reflect on briefly for those who aren't familiar with it, then I'll pass along a few tidbits I picked up along the way, and finish with what's next.

By far, …

As I approach the end of my induction therapy and the clinical trial I've been on, I find myself reflecting on the past two years since I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

One of the consequences of the diagnosis that I've come to recognize – and which I most likely will have to accept even more in the future – is how humbling dealing with cancer can be.

Sure, there are the little things, like figuring out how to manage a 24-hour urine collection that includes a full day at work, or having to …

I mentioned in a recent column how the topics for my columns crop up from a variety of sources.  This month's topic formed in my head (as you might expect, during a dex-day) due to the convergence of three separate, but related items and events:

A recent posting to one of the Beacon columns or forums indicating the site is not much more than a place for everyone to come and drown their sorrows.

A conversation I had with one of my sons that's been an ongoing debate as to whether interacting …

I recently had one of the vivid dreams I've tended to experience ever since being on chemotherapy for multiple myeloma.

I have so many different drugs flowing through me at any given time that I can't be sure which one causes the dreams.  Or perhaps they are due to some particular combination.  I was also fighting another sinus infection at the time, so the antibiotics, decongestants, and cough suppressants I was taking may also have been a factor.

Whatever the cause, it's not as relevant as the emotions evoked by the dream, …

Many of the topics I write about start out as random things in my life that eventually grow into a column. Sometimes the seed is planted by a comment someone makes, or perhaps something I read, or in at least one case by a dream.

The idea for this month's column came to me when I recently heard the song "Once In A Lifetime" by the Talking Heads, which includes the line "You may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?"

Or in other words, "Why do I have multiple myeloma?" …

One of the first questions most of us probably ask after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma is "How long do I have?", or some derivative thereof.  For me, I think the question came right after asking what multiple myeloma is, and whether it's curable.

Perhaps it might be better to take a more philosophical approach and respond by asking "How long does anyone have?", reflecting the fact that life is a crap shoot, stuff happens, and we truly don't know when we will die.

After all, barring any knowledge of the unforeseen, …