Back in February, I wrote about a big decision that I would be facing in a couple of months – whether to go off treatment for the first time since my multiple myeloma diagnosis in June of 2013. It is now two months later, and it is decision time.

I have decided to “take the plunge” into the world of a drug holiday.

“Taking the plunge” may seem like an odd way to phrase it, since this should be a time for relief mixed with joy rather than a jump into …

Seven years have passed since I first ventured to Little Rock, Arkansas, to be treated for multiple myeloma. My youngest daughter was nearly five when I began my journey. When she recently asked me to tell her again about what happened, I put a different spin on the tale:

Once upon a time there was a King who lived with his beloved Queen and their two young Princesses in a tiny castle at the edge of the forest.

They were a happy family. Laughter filled their daily lives. They prospered and got …

As I mentioned in my pre­vi­ous column, I started treat­ment with the newly approved myeloma drug Empliciti (elo­tuzu­mab) in Feb­ru­ary. I thought I would share more details about my ex­peri­ences with the drug so far.

Before I started treat­ment with Empliciti, I had enjoyed a drug holiday for the pre­vi­ous three months. I ap­pre­ci­ated the break from the side effects of drugs and nu­mer­ous trips to the cancer center.

Before the drug holiday, I was on Kyprolis (car­filz­o­mib), Revlimid (lena­lido­mide) and dexamethasone (Decadron) for …

Have you ever really thought about the differences between symptomatic myeloma and smoldering myeloma?

If you ask newly diagnosed patients about their symptomatic myeloma, you’ll likely hear stories with common themes – like “we’re hitting the myeloma hard,” and how the treatment was scheduled with a sense of urgency. This type of myeloma usually has patients and their specialists leaping into action in hopes of bringing a quick and lasting remission. Of course, symptomatic multiple myeloma is an active disease with serious symptoms and repercussions, and it calls for an immediate response.

That’s …

As an engineer, my professional life is governed by numbers: how many kilo­grams of fuel will it take to perform a maneuver, how many degrees should we rotate the spacecraft towards the Sun, etc.

My life as a myeloma patient is also dominated by numbers: IgA and kappa light chain readings, Revlimid (lenalidomide) and dexamethasone (Decadron) doses, and so on.

With this focus on numbers, it is probably not surprising that I tend to remember dates. For instance, I always mark the anniversary of my stem cell transplant.

Another …

In my February column, I shared my con­cern that my upcoming three-month checkup could reveal that I relapsed. This was due to the fact that the blood test results at my checkup in December showed a faint-to-moderate sign of a monoclonal protein – the first time this had happened since my autologous stem cell transplant in early June of 2014.

I consider myself an optimistic individual. But in the days leading up to my three-month checkups, a pessimistic side of me surfaces as I worry that something new will be seen in …

As I wrote in my last column, I was at the Mayo Clinic in February for both an oncology check and a cardiology consult.

The cardiology consult I passed with flying colors. I do not have pulmonary hypertension; I do not have amyloid damage to my heart. To borrow from poet Archibald MacLeish, I indeed have a heart and it is in solid shape.

The oncology picture is muddier. I have not relapsed, which is great news. But the Kyprolis (carfilzomib) regimen I am on …