Over the past month, I have once again experienced a wide variety of multiple myeloma-related events that I have heard about over the years.

One thing is for sure:  I don’t recover from sicknesses nearly as well as I used to before my autologous stem cell transplant in July.

Three weeks ago I experienced the worst cold I have had in a decade.  I was able to fight it off in a week or so, but then I was hospitalized this…

I learned this week that my post-stem cell transplant consolidation therapy is continuing to work.  But the side effects are becoming less predictable.

My monoclonal protein number — also known as M-spike — has been dropping ever since I began consolidation therapy with Revlimid (lenalidomide), Velcade (bortezomib), and dexamethasone (Decadron), commonly abbreviated as RVD.  After two 6-week treatment cycles, my numbers are back to where they were just before my autologous stem cell transplant.

As many of…

I have experienced a lot medically since my previous column.  Some of the news is good.  But there have also been a few hiccups along the way …

Let’s focus on the good news first. 

As hoped, the combination of Revlimid (lenalidomide), Velcade (bortezomib) and dexamethasone (Decadron), commonly abbreviated RVD, that I started six weeks ago is working.

My monoclonal protein number – or M-spike – has been cut in half from 0.6 to 0.3.

This…

A while back I reported how my compromised immune system, reacting to years of chemotherapy, had allowed melanoma (skin cancer) to develop on my left ear. The melanoma was surgically removed on Monday.

But this week’s column isn’t about that.  The surgery went well — although my surgeon did need to remove a larger part of my ear than he originally anticipated.

No, this week’s column is about waiting.

Let me set the scene for you.  I’m lying in pre-op,…

I, like probably many multiple myeloma survivors, experience peripheral neuropathy.

Peripheral neuropathy is a condition that is a result of nerve damage. It is commonly found in diabetes patients and older people, as well as those of us with multiple myeloma.

Symptoms include numbness in the hands and feet, loss of balance, trouble writing, opening jars, trouble with buttons or zippers, and/or pain in various parts of the body.

Sometimes people who suffer from peripheral neuropathy experience something best described…