As cancer patients, how many times have we heard that our previous concept of normal is gone and we need to adjust to a "new normal"?

One of the first things my first doctor told me was that I would need to accept a new normal.

The health section of my local newspaper has a column each weekend written by a breast cancer survivor, and her article the week after I was diagnosed was about accepting the new normal.

I've found myself using the phrase to explain to people how I deal …

Last week marked the six-year anniversary of my diagnosis of multiple myeloma.  The occasion was marked, not by a celebration, but by a trip to Boston to talk with Dr. Ken Anderson about the next step in my treatment.

The last six years have been filled with ups and downs.

As I am always reminded, myeloma is a very heterogeneous disease and behaves differently for everyone.  Some people seem to have periods of very long responses to treatment and periods where the disease is well controlled.   It seems that was never really …

Last Tuesday, I made my 13^th trip to Pittsburgh since last April when my sister Deana was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. When I think back to my April trip, I am so thankful for how far we have come.

That day last year when I sat on the plane, I was working hard to keep my composure and ready myself for whatever battle we faced.  My limited research upon hearing Deana’s diagnosis had me very worried, and I prayed we would find out that the doctors were wrong.

As many of you …

You may remember from my first column the strange events going on with me in the spring of 2009 that culminated in a bad fall and back injuries in July of the same year.

We got X-rays taken after the fall that showed four vertebral fractures, one in the upper and three in the lower back. Probably the worst one was from the fall. All were compression fractures, which are seen in cases of osteoporosis. That was the diagnosis I had received six months earlier, and I was already on medica­tions …

Tuesday, February 28, started out like most any other day for me, but little did I know that it was destined to be one for the memory books.

After nearly ten months of aggressive treatment for multiple myeloma in Arkansas and twenty-seven months of weekly maintenance chemo­therapy back home in the Ozarks of southwest Missouri, I had learned, despite my ongoing health issues, to tackle each day with as much gusto as I could muster.

As was the custom, I woke up early to see my wife and kids off to school …

I find myself frequently advising multiple myeloma patients to “get a second opinion from a myeloma specialist before making a major therapy decision.”

You might ask, “Why should I bother to get a second opinion?”

My response is: why not get a second opinion from a myeloma specialist?

But I hear plenty of reasons and excuses.

“There isn't a major cancer center near me.”

“I like and trust my doctor, so why not just do what he or she says?”

“My insurance won't pay for a second opinion out of my area.” …

I recently watched a video talk by social work research professor Brené Brown about her study of “the power of vulnerability.” It turns out that people who are most fulfilled approach their lives with “wholeheartedness.” The courage to be imperfect and admit vulnerability leads to greater wellbeing.

Living with multiple myeloma is an excellent place to experience vulnerability, as being diagnosed with this disease puts a damper on any sort of idealized self-image — the idea of “perfect health.”

There is a poster of the skeletal system on my wall, a reminder …