I find that some days, while I don't exactly forget about multiple myeloma, I can focus on other aspects of life and feel a bit myeloma-free.

Yesterday was not one of those days.

My husband Graham and I have recently moved back home to Scotland from Singapore, where we had been living for the past two years. As I've men­tioned in previous columns, so far all my myeloma treat­ment has been under the care of a great team in Singapore. Without wishing to sound overly dramatic, this team brought me back from …

Randomness occurs in all aspects of life, but it sometimes seems to be particularly prevalent in multiple myeloma.

Several examples spring to mind. One is the wide variation between the behavior of the many different variants of myeloma. For no obvious reason apart from random chance, one person can have a variant that responds much better to treatment than does another.

Secondly, there is the question of the intensity of the side effects that are caused by treatment, in my case Revlimid (lenalidomide), dexa­metha­sone (Decadron), and Biaxin (clarithromycin).

I have …

At the end of April, prairie crocuses in bloom, I planted pansies and car­na­tions in planters, and then another winter storm dropped more snow on us – our version of April showers! Now, two weeks later, and after having some warm and sunny days, my garden is springing back to life. Little bulbs, such as Siberian squill, are in bloom, and the daffodils are in bud.

It’s hard to believe that two months have passed already since I last wrote about trying to choose between treatments to deter any return of the …

A three-story high evergreen grows in the corner of my yard. The majestic tree shades a small patch of the front yard and continually drops loads of pine needles, creating an acidic soil. The second story of our townhouse looms over the little yard, so little rain reaches the soil. 

In the 30 years we have lived here, I have battled these adverse con­di­tions to try and grow flowers. After many failures, only four perennials return each spring to provide a little greenery for the front of my home.

In the outside …

Apparently I’m not content to let life settle into a routine. As I wrote last month, I’ve entered a very happy holding pattern with my disease and maintenance therapy, but life is never that simple.

We’ve decided to sell our family home of 26 years and move. The move will be short in distance (only a few miles north), but far in change of life. The process has consumed a great deal of my time, energy, and attention.

We raised four wonderful children, now all adults, and welcomed our first grand­children to …

A major portion of my job as mediator at our juvenile court is holding attendance mediations in the four school districts and career center in this county. The school year around here runs mid-August to late May. I am in the schools medi­ating by late September and go until mid-May as a rule. The busiest months are December through April.

My coworkers and I have come to call this period of time “the attendance season.” “I’m sorry, it’s attendance season and I can’t cover that hearing for you,” one of them will …

Ever since I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, I have found that I’ve sort of redefined the feeling of being fortunate.

If you are going to get multiple myeloma, then I have been fortunate. I have had excellent treatment and excellent support. I had a good family, a fine education, a happy marriage, sufficient money, and so on. So, when this unfortunate diagnosis came, I was in a great position to get superb care.

When I was diagnosed, I was in Singapore and fortunate to be treated by a fantastic doctor and …