Having multiple myeloma isn't simple – It's hard! Not only do you have cancer, but you also have a dizzying array of treatment options available to you. Additionally, it doesn’t just affect your health–it can affect just about all aspects of your life.

First, you and your caregiver need to decide where to go for treatment. Do you travel across state lines to a large, regional or national cancer center that specializes in treating myeloma? Or do you pick a medical center closer to home?

What about insurance? Cost …

After my initial multiple myeloma diagnosis in April 2007, I was immediately rushed to a radiation oncologist for treatment. My myeloma had done a real number on my bones. I had lesions in my legs, hips, and ribs, but the worst, most dangerous lesions were in and around my vertebrae.

Extensive radiation helped shrink the lesions. A corticosteroid, dexamethasone, helped with pain and inflammation. However, the combination left me feeling sick and dizzy—a classic case of vertigo.

You don't hear multiple myeloma and vertigo mentioned together often, but I have …

Last week, I recommended a newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patient should take some time, step back and gather information about the growing number of treatment options.

Let's assume you have followed my advice by getting your oncologist’s opinion, then asking why. Next, you have spoken with one or more patient counselors at the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF). You have searched The Myeloma Beacon archives for possible options. Hopefully you have even sought out a second opinion at a major cancer center which specializes in treating multiple myeloma patients.

What's the next step? …

You have been diagnosed with multiple myeloma. You have just been diagnosed with cancer. You and your family and friends are shocked, scared, and shaken. The initial reaction—by you and your doctor—is to start treatment right away.

STOP! Time is rarely of the immediate essence following a multiple myeloma diagnosis. Multiple myeloma tends to be a slow moving, plodding, yet unstoppable disease. A few hours, days, or even weeks are unlikely to affect your overall prognosis.

Even if you have already started treatment, it is never too late to re-evaluate your treatment …

I just returned from speaking to a blood cancer support group in Atlanta. The patients, survivors, and caregivers in attendance were amazing--kind, caring, and self aware. Why were they there? The food? The companionship? To learn more about their cancer and hear me speak? Yes! They came for all those reasons and more.

The bottom line: Everyone felt better after they left (including me) than they did before the meeting started. I left tonight's meeting with a bounce in my step.

It had been a long day of cleaning the …

Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is a common side effect of a number of chemotherapy drugs used to treat multiple myeloma. Symptoms range from tingling or numbness of the toes, fingers, feet, hands, or legs, to severe pain—and everything in between.

Like many multiple myeloma patients, I suffer from PN. Some of it began even before I began treatment, most likely caused by nerve compression in and around my damaged vertebrae. Once I began treatment, it rapidly got worse.

My hands became so unsteady it was (and still is) difficult for me to write …

Multiple myeloma is an unusual type of cancer. With some cancers, the end comes quickly. Others are easily cured. Multiple myeloma patients are stuck in the middle. Multiple myeloma is the ultimate shade of gray. Multiple myeloma doesn't knock you out—it wears you down!

My wife, Pattie, was forced to endure major surgery following her cervical and uterine cancer diagnosis at the young age of 34. Six years later, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. That meant another surgery and six grueling months of chemotherapy.

But there was always a light at …