I recently had lunch with a group of fellow multiple myeloma patients, during which we touched on the problems we patients have had with memory and cognitive issues.

We all agreed that the treat­ments we have received seem to have affected our states of mind.

For me, that was particularly true after my stem cell trans­plant in January 2010. I was dealing with many aspects of "chemo brain" at the time. These problems included short-term memory loss, slower thinking, and trouble concentrating. Sometimes I would walk into a room to get …

We had a really long, cold winter with lots of snow and ice this year. Our Chinook winds, which bring warm air from over the mountains to the west, did not blow very often. When finally at the end of April our streets were clear of snow and a few spring bulbs came up in the garden, I was glad to get back to spending more time outdoors.

When I walk outdoors, I often listen to Ian Tyson’s song ‘Springtime in Alberta,’ a moody song with the lines, "Just like spring time …

Last month, I watched the Juno Awards, the Canadian music awards, on TV. Broadcast from Vancouver, the show featured a live performance by Diana Krall. That alone was enough for me to watch the cermonies, for Krall is an artist I admire, both for her music and for her support of multiple myeloma patients and their families.

The Artist of the Year award was awarded posthumously to Gord Downie of band ‘The Tragically Hip.’ He passed away last year from brain cancer after a two-year battle that he played out publicly with …

I hope that all readers are enjoying this season, mid-way between winter and spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and mid-way between summer and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere!

Recently, my husband Dilip and I took a two-week trip to Australia, where we really enjoyed being in peak summer weather. That trip has taken some of the bite out of our winter, since we are still experiencing severe cold and heavy snowfalls here in Canada, even in March. We all hope that since March came in like a lion this year, it …

It is February, and with it comes Valentine’s Day, the day on which we cherish our loved ones. And I have many people in my life who I cherish. As it has turned out in recent years, we have leaned on and tried to help each other through many difficult times.

First and foremost, I am grateful for my husband Dilip. We have been married for 40 years now and can look back on many great times to­gether. We met in the biology depart­ment at the University of Calgary, where we found …

Since I wrote my last column, winter harshly arrived with a stretch of low tem­per­a­tures that were colder than those at the North Pole. We had a heavy snowfall, which brightened up the environment even as we shivered a lot outdoors. It warmed up again in the last week to above freezing during the day, but we are not finished with winter yet.

Because my path with multiple myeloma has not been straightforward, or even predictable, I thought I would share with you how my health is now.

In a nutshell: …

Although we would like to think of the winter holiday season as a jolly time, filled with good cheer, for some it is not such a happy stretch of time. For those who are sick, undergoing difficult medical treatment, or in hospital, or for those who have lost a loved one in the last year, this can actually be a sad time.

Even if a person is well, just coping with the low levels of sunlight in the north, in addition to the storms and cold weather that are common during this …