Three months ago, my painful right hip was replaced.  Recovery has been swift and rewarding.  I’m able to kick in the pool again when I swim, take long walks, and not wake up in the middle of the night with my myeloma-ravaged hip joint throbbing.

But all my news on the pain front isn’t good.  Back before I was diag­nosed in 2007, my myeloma had been systematically attacking my bones for years.  My ribs, lower back, pelvis, and right femur were all involved.  Hardest hit of all were several of my cervical …

Last year, I emerged from a three-week hospital stay for a stem cell trans­plant in late March.  On the drive home, I almost wept with happi­ness looking at the flowering cherry trees, forsythia bushes, and tulips. Com­pared with the subdued hues of my hospital room, the colors were so glorious and bright.   Spring had come early, and March had been one of the warmest on record.

This year, it has been cool here in the northeast, and spring has been late and extended.  The cherry trees are not even in full bloom, …

In my February column, I discussed my decision to forego maintenance therapy and go drug free following the conclusion of my initial treatment.  I closed the column with the statement "I have made my decision, and good, bad, or indif­fer­ent, I will live with it."

A bold, confident statement and one I still stand behind.  However, in the weeks since ending my treatment, it's also one that I think will be easier said than done.

It's difficult not to wonder whether every unexpected ache or pain may be myeloma related, though …

Three months have passed since I left the hospital after my stem cell transplant. 

I am in a quiet and watchful time period, regrouping my energy and my brain cells for the next phase of my life. 

I have been regularly delighted by being able to return to “normal” activities such as shaving and an occasional visit to the barber. While my barber doesn’t have much work to do on my head, he is a phenomenally upbeat guy and entertains me with details of his youth, such as harvesting olives in Sicily. …

Let me start out by saying that this is a “dex day” for me, so I’m writing this in the middle of the night.

As we’ve reduced my dose of dexamethasone (Decadron) over time, I don’t awake as early in the night as I used to.  Also, in earlier times, the dex would wake me up, and bing! – I’d be fully awake.  Instantly.

That’s not so any more.  Nowadays, with the lower dose, I’m still tired when the dex brings me out of sleep mode.  I’m awake with virtually no …

When my husband Dave was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in June 2008 after a compression fracture at his T8 vertebra, we were thrust into a life crisis of a cancer diagnosis.  However, the more immediate issue was managing Dave’s tremendous and debilitating pain.

Dave had never been in the hospital and was not on any medications at the time of his diagnosis. For him, as for many otherwise healthy adults, he had to “rethink” his views on pain medication. He feared becoming addicted. He would not take his pain meds as prescribed, …