July 22 marked the third anniversary of my au­tol­o­gous (own) stem cell trans­plant. Honestly, although the treat­ment went well, when I was sent home, three-years in the future seemed like a very long time away. I wouldn't have been surprised if a relapse had arrived before this day.

Today, how­ever, I'm still enjoying a com­plete response and rel­a­tive­ly good health with remarkably few side effects. My perspective on the future also is much brighter, and three more years of good health doesn't seem like a stretch anymore.

Much of my current …

Here in “Space City,” we’ve been celebrating an im­por­tant mile­stone. It was 50 years ago when the unthinkable was accomplished, and we became a lunar people. On July 20, 1969 at 10:56 p.m., astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first men to walk on the Moon. With astronaut Michael Collins piloting the capsule, Houston Capcom monitoring the mis­sion, and more than half a billion people watching on television, Armstrong climbed down the ladder and proclaimed: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

The total mis­sion duration …

I was recently in an interview (part of the team of interviewers, not the interviewee) and I heard the best answer ever to a dif­fi­cult question. It was de­liv­ered without the can­di­date missing a beat.

I described the situation into which the can­di­date, if chosen, would be placed. It is an external pro­gram, there have been issues outside of our control that have created barriers and obstacles for predecessors in the position, and while there would be strong internal sup­port, the employee often would be work­ing on his or her own. I …

It’s summer here in Calgary, and sunshine and showers are alter­nat­ing. Everything is green, and the gardens are a joy to behold. It’s not too warm; in fact, our daytime high tem­per­a­tures on the colder days have been only 52 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees Celsius).

This is good weather for walking, and my husband and I got out cycling on Canada Day, July 1. We went along the Bow River path­way for a few miles, and really enjoyed seeing nature there. We saw ospreys in a nest on a plat­form, geese …

I think that when you are diag­nosed with a serious con­di­tion such as multiple myeloma, it’s probably quite natural to wonder why this has hap­pened.

The medical and popular media are con­stantly suggesting that we follow particular regi­mens in order to keep ourselves healthy and avoid getting cancer. Lots of 'un­healthy' behaviors are thought to in­crease our risk of getting a range of lifestyle-related cancers. But there is no evi­dence that multiple myeloma is a 'preventable' cancer. Nothing that we know of that we “did” caused us to get multiple myeloma or …

When you’re looking for wisdom, it’s hard to beat the tried and true lyrics from the jazz standards. One such standard was recorded by Ella Fitzgerald (among others), and it’s called, “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive.” The song begins with this advice:

You got to ac-cent-tchu-ate the pos­i­tive; E-lim-i-nate the neg­a­tive; And latch on to the affirmative; Don't mess with mister inbetween.

You got to spread joy up to the maximum; Bring gloom down to the minimum; Have faith, or pandemonium; Liable to walk upon the scene.

There are lots of everyday hassles and …

I feel fortunate that, as a myeloma patient, I still am able to lead a rel­a­tive­ly nor­mal life at this point in time. I am feeling particularly well right now since I went off of myeloma medications this past January.

My current state of health allows me to be very active and involved in my growing family. These days, a typical day of mine consists of exercising, gardening, housework, shopping, and looking after babies and toddlers (I am a grandmother of five little boys, the youngest just born in May).  …