I won’t bury the lead.  Last week I learned that I’d relapsed yet again.  The news was unexpected.  After all, my monoclonal protein (M-spike) had been stable at a low 0.2 g/dL for over a year.  Now it had jumped to 0.5 g/dL.

Most multiple myeloma patients are asymptomatic with M-spikes a lot higher than 0.5 g/dL.  But that isn’t a good number for me.  I developed bone lesions at that number following my stem cell transplant several years ago.

Why now?  Why had the doublet of subcutaneous Velcade (bortezomib) …

Three months ago, my painful right hip was replaced.  Recovery has been swift and rewarding.  I’m able to kick in the pool again when I swim, take long walks, and not wake up in the middle of the night with my myeloma-ravaged hip joint throbbing.

But all my news on the pain front isn’t good.  Back before I was diag­nosed in 2007, my myeloma had been systematically attacking my bones for years.  My ribs, lower back, pelvis, and right femur were all involved.  Hardest hit of all were several of my cervical …

In last month’s column, I wrote about how much my perspective on myeloma therapy has changed over the past six years since my diagnosis.  In a nutshell, I’m more willing to try new things and endure troubling side effects now than I was back when I was still a “rookie.”

My attitude about stem cell transplants is a perfect example of this.  I look at stem cell transplants differently now – both allogeneic transplants (using donor stem cells) and autologous transplants (using my own stem cells).  Not only would I be …

Side effects are a multiple myeloma survivor’s per­ma­nent companion.  Oh, they may change from month to month and treat­ment to treat­ment, but one way or an­other, you are forced to deal with them.

Doctors always insist you share any negative side effects (there are posi­tive ones?) with them or their nurse im­me­di­ately.  And early on, your on­col­o­gist may be quick to switch you from one therapy to another in order to avoid serious, de­bil­i­tat­ing side effects like severe skin rashes, crash­ing blood counts, or pe­riph­er­al neu­rop­athy (pain, tingling, or loss of sen­sa­tion …

At this time last month, I was preparing to undergo hip replacement surgery.  One month later, I’m pleased to report that the surgery was an awesome success!

I went home two days after my surgery, two days ahead of schedule.  I was walking without a cane in five days and without a limp in ten. And although I still get a bit sore after walking up a long flight of stairs or working out, the pain is far less than it was before I went under the knife.

At my post-op check-up, …

“Your myeloma is stable.”  Short, sweet music to my ears!

I’m not sure she realized it, but my myeloma specialist had just opened up a world of possibilities for me.

Two years ago, I relapsed for the first time.  After taking a year-and-a-half to finally achieve remission again, all were concerned when I relapsed after ten short weeks.  Now, after three months on Velcade (bortezomib) and dexa­metha­sone (Decadron), I waited to find out if that basic com­bi­na­tion was enough to stall out my myeloma’s active return.  It was. …

I just finished re-reading my column from last month on the topic of denial about death and dying.  The column generated so much discussion, I wanted to write a follow-up.

Let me start by clarifying my take on denial:

We all need to grieve or emotionally deal with our diagnosis in whatever way works best for each of us; I would never be so presumptuous as to tell someone how they should do that.

Denial can be a magnificent coping tool.  If trying to come to grips with your diagnosis is …