Lately I was considering just how time consuming it is for me to be a myeloma patient. Since I have been back on treatments since October of 2014, I have noticed that I now need more time to deal with myeloma.

Although I am really trying to live a normal life and not let the fact that I am taking Revlimid (lenalidomide) and dexamethasone (Decadron) get in my way, I have to admit that I am slowed down by the treatments.

I have to rest more because the Revlimid …

Earlier this winter, while browsing through a book­shop, I came across an an­thol­ogy of poetry called ‘Learn by Heart Poetry - Verse to Enjoy and Cherish for Life,’ compiled by George Davidson. That book included a poem I had heard of, but not completely read before, called ‘Warning’ by Jenny Joseph (1932 - ).

The main theme of the poem is that a woman is wondering how she will live her life when she becomes old. The poem starts out with the fol­low­ing verse:

When I am an old woman …

As you may remember from my November column, I had to re­start treat­ment last fall after my doctor and I had observed a rising trend in my mono­clonal (M) pro­tein and light chain levels over the pre­vious six months.

My doctor put me on 25 mg of Revlimid (lena­lido­mide) daily – a much higher dose than I had taken before – and 20 mg of dexa­metha­sone (Deca­dron) weekly in an effort to push the myeloma back down into another re­mission ... or some­thing close to that.

After being on ‘treatment …

I have been living with multiple myeloma for almost six years now, and I am grateful that, after a period of initial treatment,  I have had the oppor­tun­ity to get back to a nearly normal life again.

You might think that, after such a long time, I needn’t worry about the future, or become stressed about the disease sometimes, but that is not always the case.

My relapse last autumn and subsequent return to treatment on the stron­gest dosage of Revlimid (lenalidomide) plus weekly dexa­meth­a­sone (Deca­dron) was a reminder …

On a cold day at the end of January, I was working out at the fitness center when I reflected about the role exercise has played in my life and how it has changed since my myeloma diagnosis. I had been walking outdoors a lot with our ‘grandpuppy,’ but the cold weather had driven me indoors for exercising.

The fitness center has been part of my life since before I had the vertebral fractures that led to my myeloma diagnosis in 2009. In fact, my husband and I have had a …

My husband Dilip and I have always enjoyed traveling. We like to see new places, and since we both have family members who live in different provinces and different countries, travel has allowed us to see many places.

This routine changed suddenly when I was diagnosed with myeloma in the summer of 2009. We did not travel at all while I was undergoing in­duc­tion therapy and the stem cell transplant.

We slowly resumed our travel routine once I started low-dose therapy with Revlimid (lenalidomide) in 2010. Once I completed my …

The days are getting much shorter here in the Northern Hemisphere, and we are approaching another solstice. This is a time of cheerful lights, caroling songs, and celebrating with family and friends.

It is also the time for spiritual reflection on the end of one year and the birth of a new one.

As part of this reflection, I would like to share some of my ‘grown up’ wishes for the myeloma community.

At the very top of my holiday wish list is a cure for myeloma. Although better …