The Beast is written by Teresa Krone, whose husband Richard passed away in early 2009 due to complications with multiple myeloma. Richard, who was diagnosed with myeloma in April 1999 at the age of 49, worked as a fifth grade teacher until his retirement in 2005. Despite treatment with thalidomide and Revlimid, chemotherapy, and an allogenic stem cell transplant, Richard was unable to beat multiple myeloma (or “the beast,” as Teresa calls it). Although Teresa updates her blog less frequently since Richard’s death, her earlier blog entries discussed the ups and downs of Richard’s experience with myeloma.