The sunrises here in the foothills are spectacular in the fall. Beautiful oranges, pinks, and lavenders light the clouds from below. In addition, the leaves are in full splendor, shining in gold, orange, and red. There isn’t a nicer time of year to get outdoors. It inspires me to lace up my trainers, put on a fitness tracker, plug in some ear buds, and head out for a walk.

A daily walk seems quite normal to me because when I was growing up, we walked to school and back. Although the distance …

Two subjects that I seem to spend a lot of time think­ing about these days are multiple myeloma and rocket science. This is not all that surprising really, as I was a university professor of aero­space en­gi­neer­ing, teach­ing subjects that could loosely be termed “rocket science,” when I was diag­nosed with myeloma in 2006.

It was in the late spring of 2005 that I experienced what was probably, in retro­spect, the first sign that something was wrong with my health: an annoying dry cough that was not a big deal, but …

While basking in the afterglow of a recent gazillion-course United Methodist pot luck supper, one of my very favorite church ladies sauntered over and confided in me that one of her elderly friends back in Iowa had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

As we talked about how her friend was dealing with his formidable chal­lenges and I shared about the frustrations that I was facing, she caught me totally off guard when she said:

"You know, all in all, you should thank your lucky stars that you came down with myeloma when …

Last month I promised an update on how I responded to the salvage au­tol­ogous stem cell transplant I underwent in July. The news is good!

Although some active myeloma remains in the occipital lesion at the base of my skull, and in both hips, all lesions have significantly improved. A half dozen other lesions are clear. And the extramedullary plasmacytoma that was growing in the lymph nodes in my groin? Gone!

I had a 0.2 g/dL M-spike going in and coming out of the transplant. But my spe­cial­ist feels that’s of no …

I have written before about our need for help. No cancer patient can go it alone.

One of my fellow columnists recently wrote a compelling column about her caregiver and his importance in her battle with myeloma. The primary caregiver is the most important person in our lives.

In my case, fiancée Audrey has been an equal part of the team from the very beginning. I could not have dealt with the disease if she had not been there every day with strong support and encouragement.

I have also been fortunate …

“Seventeen minutes slower ...” In August, 2010, I was 17 minutes slower in the Cherry Creek Sprint Triathlon – an 800-meter swim, 12-mile bike ride, and a 5k run – than the previous year. Seventeen minutes slower was a worrisome change for me.

Before you mistake me for a lean, mean, athletic machine, let me intro­duce myself. I am a 71-year old woman who is a little overweight, a strong swimmer, and a power walker. As an athlete, I am truly a turtle, but tri­ath­lons are perfect for athletes like me. The cross training of …

I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma nearly 10 years ago. I remember a doctor telling me it was an “exciting time” for myeloma.

At the time, I felt the exact opposite of excited, but now I can understand what he meant. Over the last decade, many new myeloma treatments have been ap­proved and even more are on the way. Life expectancy and op­ti­mism has in­creased.

Although there is never a “good” time to get cancer, I know I’ve been ben­e­fiting from medical treat­ments and knowledge that didn’t exist 10 years, even …