The month of July has always been a special month for me. There are many family birthdays, and my husband Dilip’s and my wedding anni­versary also falls into this month (it’s our 37th this year).

However, five years ago, in July 2009, I had a very bad month. That was when my myeloma was diagnosed, and it has changed the course of my life forever. Every year since then, I have felt apprehensive as my myeloma anniversary ap­proached.

This year, however, I feel I have cause to celebrate for the first time, …

It’s been said over and over that multiple myeloma encompasses a wide spectrum of diseases.

It includes people with the precursor diseases monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and smoldering multiple myeloma. It also includes newly diagnosed patients with active myeloma, those approaching their first stem cell transplant, some patients who are fairly stable on maintenance therapy, and those progressing after various treatments.

I think the different phases of the disease are reflected well by the diverse perspectives of the contributors to The Myeloma Beacon. I, too, have writ­ten over the years …

The title of this column is a bit of an overstatement. I never lived alone as a her­mit in a cabin in the woods. I have loving, caring family and friends.

However, I have always been comfortable with a fair amount of alone time. In fact, I often crave it.

I heard a recent radio interview with Jane Goodall, the famous prima­tol­o­gist and anthropologist. The interviewer asked her if spending years in the jungle among the chimpanzees drove her stir crazy. She said, “Not at all. From the time I was a …

On the day of my very first bone marrow biopsy, the really nice technician en­cour­aged me to relax and to breathe deeply throughout the procedure. I settled down on the table and thanked her for the kind suggestions.

After I asked her to explain the nuts-and-bolts of the biopsy, I immediately stopped relaxing and very nearly stopped breathing. So much for asking ques­tions.

When she eventually pried my hand off of the doorknob and took me back to the cot, she repeated that I should relax and breathe. Relax and breathe. It …

The sun is shining, and our cats are dreaming in sunbeams about catch­ing quick-footed squirrels just out of reach. Summer … It feels good to finally be here, and so it’s fitting that I now conclude the three-part series on our journey from the dark days of my husband Daniel’s initial diag­no­sis to the brighter days of the present.

As I mentioned in my last column, we moved to Houston in 2012 so that Daniel could be treated by a myeloma specialist at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. I truly believe that …

I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma when my only daughter was six months old. I’ve experienced parenthood and cancerhood for ap­prox­i­mate­ly the same amount of time, and I can tell you the one thing these two states have in com­mon: Everyone wants to give you advice.

I suppose most of it is well-meaning advice. I mean, who wouldn’t want to know that letting a three-year-old keep her pacifier is going to turn her into a serial killer? Who doesn’t want to know that her myeloma specialist is a quack? Thanks so much, …

It’s June, and the spring flowers have given way to colorful annuals and pe­ren­ni­als, such as peonies, poppies, and delphiniums, in my garden. In addition, lilacs and crab apples are still in bloom. This is as close to par­a­dise as it gets here.

After a busy spring of getting the lawn and flower beds tidied up and planted, it’s time to put out a lawn chair, pour an iced tea or lemonade, and find a good book to read. Summer reading has its own charm, es­pecially if one can spend time outdoors. …