I just returned from a long trip to Europe, and boy do I feel refreshed! The reason I think I feel so good is that I took a holiday not just from work and the mundane problems of home, but I also took a holiday from my multiple myeloma.

I once again find myself feeling guilty for being one of the healthiest guys in the myeloma ward, so let me explain.

My wife and I spent about three weeks in Switzerland and Italy without the kids. It was a great trip. I …

I just finished putting on a full-size school carnival earlier this month to raise money for our local high school, and I am still exhausted.

The idea of the carnival was born about 10 years ago when some friends and I were talking about raising money for our local school. Like most public schools, ours in Hawaii are horribly underfunded. I have always been good at fundraising in creative ways, and one of my favorite ways to raise funds is having a party.

What is a carnival but a kind of large …

I recently returned from a holiday visit to our relatives on the mainland. For those of you unfamiliar with travel to or from Hawaii, the trip to anywhere out of state is LONG. A minimum of five hours of flying is needed to get anywhere. Our flight to Phoenix was six and a half hours this time.

After a lifetime of this kind of travel, you would think I would get used to it. You would be wrong.

It’s the same with my myeloma. You would think that after three and a …

A few months ago, a reader named Ginny D asked a question in response to one of my columns. She rhetorically asked “Why is cancer so hard? Not only for patients, but for caregivers, friends, and family? Why, for example, does it seem harder than heart disease or other life-threatening illnesses?”

I think it’s a great question.

I’m sure that almost everybody has had to go through the gut-wrenching ex­peri­ence of having someone (either themselves or a loved one) be diagnosed with cancer. Ouch! That seemed like the worst possible news. …

If you have ever read any of my past columns, you will already know that I am all about “carpe diem,” or seizing the day. My father is my inspiration for this outlook. He has spent 50 years battling debilitating multiple sclerosis (MS) with a positive attitude that has allowed him to do the most with whatever he has each day.

My father's amazing ability to keep plugging away with a smile through his life-altering disease has carried me through the difficult task of trying to live with multiple myeloma.

Unfortunately, his …

I am writing today under the old adage of “misery loves company.” I don’t want you to be mis­er­a­ble, but I just need to share with some­body who understands.

For those of you currently enduring severe myeloma symp­toms or treat­ment side effects, please for­give me for sounding like a spoiled brat. How­ever, there are many of us who ex­per­i­ence myeloma like a dull constant head­ache, rather than a migraine. And that constant ache is a hassle (al­though I’m sure those of you with a migraine would trade for it in a minute …

I have been diagnosed with a terminal disease.

So have many of you. If you’re reading this, you mostly likely at least know somebody who has a terminal disease. The vast majority of you are di­rect­ly affected by this “terminal” diagnosis.

I think whoever came up with this term should get a linguistic award. "Ter­mi­nal" sounds like a very serious word, without all the hassle of the word "death."

Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not trying to make light of death or to spin a humorous anecdote out of it.

What I want …