On the Road

I’ve been traveling. Recently, my wife and I attended the graduation of our niece from Whitman College in Washington. Tillie, the daughter of my wife’s sister, received a degree in Theatre with a minor in Spanish. She landed a much sought after two-year position at the college admission office, which will provide her income and [...]

Choices

In January, I met with Dr. M. Once again, my cancer showed signs of awakening. I feel good. I am not overtly symptomatic. Nevertheless, the myeloma stretched and yawned. After a nearly 2 1/2-year nap, my drug-free remission was about to end. Since last October, we’ve discussed a course of action. I digested statistics from clinical trial [...]

IMF Patient & Family Seminar

Last Thursday I visited my oncologist. We reviewed the most recent lab tests. Things are good. My M-Spike holds at 0.1 g/dL and serum free light chain numbers are all within the reference range. My drug-free remission continues 21 months post transplant. On Friday I drove to Portland, OR to attend the International Myeloma Foundation’s [...]

The Reality of Hope

I love the musky smell of my tomato plants. Each evening after work, I forage for the ripened fruit, taking in their dense, earthy fragrance. Green peppers share the raised beds. Mother Nature’s fickle architecture of this bell-shaped vegetable pleases the eye as well as the tongue. My wildflowers are going to seed. They attract [...]

April Is The Cruelest Month

April is the cruelest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. T. S. Eliot The coming of April teases the gardener in me. I long to sink glove deep into the warming loam. Yet a fresh skiff of snow spoils the mood. Cheerless breezes [...]

IMF & MMRF

Things I like about Seattle: people riding the bus say, “Thank you,” to the driver when they exit. And, the driver always says, “You’re welcome.” Also, the sidewalk art enhances my wandering. Research into multiple myeloma is among the most dynamic of all cancers. Why? Two major non-profit foundations exist to promote the latest therapies. [...]

Bring It On & The IMF

It’s HOT in Seattle, as I guess it is everywhere else on the West Coast. Not much air conditioning in these parts, as the sweltering days are few and far between. After the winter and spring we’ve had, the warm weather feels great. On Friday & Saturday we attended a Patient & Family Seminar hosted [...]

Tests & Classes

I thought I would update the page while John is enjoying his full-body MRI. These first two weeks of diagnostic testing have examined every organ and orifice and testify to SCCA’s attention to detail. So far John is passing all of his tests and is on track for the transplant procedure. We spent 6 hours [...]