Isn’t it amazing what a multiple myeloma patient can learn to endure?  I’m so much tougher than I was four years ago when I started my myeloma journey.

But despite all of the drugs, pokes, sticks, and tests I have been forced to endure, one thing I had yet to do was learn to give myself an injection—and the thought had always petrified me!

Let me back up a bit.

I have been taking Revlimid (lenalidomide) orally for over four years.  Ever since I developed a pulmonary embolism (blood clot) in …

When I finished with my stem cell transplant in September of 2006, I had achieved a very good partial response and my monoclonal protein level (M-spike) was down from 7.5 at diagnosis to 0.5. My doctor seemed happy, but in truth I was not.  I was disappointed I didn’t achieve a complete response.

In an attempt to reduce stress, I returned to work on a somewhat reduced schedule compared to what I was used to doing before getting sick.

I tried to carry on life as normally as possible and began a …

The feedback received from my first column – My Sister Has What?!?! – has been a great comfort to me and my family.  While I doubt that anyone welcomes the opportunity to join the world of cancer, the support among patients and caregivers is all that I had heard it was.  Thus, I begin by saying a heartfelt thank you to those who have reached out.

As I write this, Team Beat the H*ll Outta Multiple Myeloma (BTHO MM) marks five weeks since my sister Deana’s multiple myeloma diagnosis.  The reality of …

While I was in Chicago for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting this past weekend, I noticed a renewed emphasis by clinicians and researchers to aggressively move forward with individual, targeted cancer therapies.

Attempts to use patient-specific antibodies as a way to deliver innovative anti-cancer therapies grabbed the headlines.

But there is a far simpler way to use patient-specific information. Tailoring dosing to each individual can get the optimum results with minimal side effects, using anti-cancer drugs and therapies that are already available.

This is especially true for multiple myeloma …

I have always been fascinated and inspired by stories of courage through adversity. In that vein, an event took place during a week in late May that gave me great pause to reflect upon how I deal with the reality of living with multiple myeloma.

On May 22, a monstrous tornado, 3/4 of a mile wide, 13.8 miles long, and packing winds in excess of 200 miles per hour, descended upon Joplin, Missouri, a town just an hour to the west of my small community. The EF-5 tornado killed 142 people, injured …

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Memorial Day holiday weekend!

I was fortunate to be able to spend some rare, quality time with my wife and caregiver, Pattie.

We shopped a bit, saw a movie, and shared a relaxed meal at a restaurant near our home.

While we dined, Pattie and I began to discuss my upcoming stem cell transplant, which was recently re-scheduled to begin around July first.

It was then Pattie reminded me about an unfortunate summer holiday cancer-related tradition we share.

It started over a decade ago, when my …

There are moments in life impossible to predict and, therefore, difficult to plan for.  One of those moments happened to me in the late afternoon about a month ago on April 27.  Learning that my sister Deana, four years my junior, had an advanced case of multiple myeloma was shocking to say the least.  It was one of the most sobering moments of my life.  Despite two days of hoping doctors would be wrong, the tests confirmed it.  So now, we as a family gear up for the greatest battle of our …