You may recall from my last column that I was holding my breath. That was because I had a seemingly ominous test result that created some con­cern.

To recap a bit, for several years I have had an M-Spike that my doctor and I believe to be secondary monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). Assuming that we are correct – and all of the other test results seem to bear out that assumption – this M-spike is not a bad thing; it is benign.

The secondary MGUS M-spike was at 0.7 g/dl (7 g/l) in …

When we multiple myeloma sufferers were first diagnosed, we all heard from our doctor something like this: “You have multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer that is incurable but treatable.”

And so the waiting and fretting began.

No matter what type of frontline treatment we chose, the questions that we had were all the same.

Will it work?

How long will it take to see results?

Can I achieve a partial, or a very good partial, or even a complete remission?

These questions began to be answered by the results of …

No snide remarks, please, in regard to the question in this column’s title. It’s a bit rhetorical – I don’t ex­pec­t a response. Instead, the question is a play on words, as you’ll shortly see.

Regular readers of my column and my postings in the Beacon’s forum know that I make no secret of my belief in the value of exercise. Clearly, exercise produces all kinds of benefits. It strengthens the bones and muscles. It promotes cardio­vas­cular health. And it has been shown to im­prove mental health by …

I have been off treatment for my multiple myeloma for about six months, so I thought this would be a good time to evaluate where things stand.

First, a short recap for those who have not followed my story.

I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma at the end of June in 2013. Almost immediately, I began what turned out to be six cycles of Velcade (bor­tezo­mib), Revlimid (lenalidomide), and dexa­metha­sone (Decadron). This reg­i­men put me into what appeared to be complete remission. I phrase it that …

Webster defines a “mentor” as “an experi­enced and trusted adviser.” I have served in my work life as an adviser, and I think it fair to say I’ve been viewed as both “ex­peri­enced” and “trusted” when I’ve taken on that role. However, I have never really con­sidered myself to be a mentor.

Sure, I have given people advice, but it was never in any kind of a formal setting. The whole “mentor-mentee” thing came into vogue in recent years, but being an old school type, it never really ap­pealed to me.

But …

In most editions of this column, I focus on lessons I have learned while dealing with multiple myeloma. My hope is that what I have learned will help others.

This month, however, I want to talk about a lesson I learned many years ago – a lesson that has been reinforced by what I have gone through since my myeloma diagnosis three years ago.

When I was a young man, before I had children, I was like many fresh-faced lawyers and other professionals – ambitious and focused on my career. I knew …

This month’s column has nothing to do with multiple myeloma the disease. There will be no discussion of M-spikes or light chains. I will not talk about treatments or side effects. I won’t offer details of my stem cell transplant and how I responded to it.

But this column has everything to do with what having myeloma has done to and for me as a person – a father, a grandfather, and a partner.

For the first 13 years of my life, I lived with my parents in the same house with …