Multiple Myeloma
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One Step at a Time, Literally
Since my diagnosis of multiple myeloma in March of 2019, I’ve taken an approach to my care that rather compartmentalizes things, and focuses on those areas that I can control. No since in getting ahead of myself, for that distracts from maximizing what I can do – what’s in my control – today. It might be correct, it might not. But, for me, it brings satisfaction and a peace of mind, and in both the short- and long-haul, I think that’s important. My approach to knuckling it up with multiple myeloma has been one with physical, mental, emotional and spiritual components. I believe those factors work in concert, together, and…
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D+274, 9 Months & a New 3/4s Birthday
My good friend, kindred spirit and sista from another motha, Beth (Boggess) Baptist, was born on December 30 (I’ll let her fill in the year if she wants). Growing up with that birthday, Beth always felt her birthday was a bit overlooked. Her friends were coming off of Christmas and kind of gearing up for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. She was, well, she was stuck in the middle. So, from her late teen years on, Beth celebrated her “half birthday,” June 30. A new celebration was born! I kind of dug that idea. And, between her and I (birthday on March 30), we have birthdays or half…
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A Differently-Abled Slant on Being Disabled
In March, when the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic really took root in the United States and started spreading like wildfire, I became a professional casualty of the virus. My employer had rather dragged its feet through a very long process to secure additional funding, and when the pandemic hit, the funding dried up. Almost instantly. It was probably the worst time ever to be in a business with a first name of – literally – retail. [Note: the company’s name is RetailNext, and its software rather acts like Google Analytics for brick-and-mortar stores.] No funding meant the need to make cuts for a retrenching business, and I had one of those…
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Stem Cell Transplants (by a Dummy for Dummies) – Part 2
I’ve been putting off writing up the concluding chapter of my stem cell transplant post. Part of it has been that I’ve been busy. C’mon, give me a break. Although, I’m less busy right now as I’ve fallen victim, professionally, to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic sweeping the globe. Now, I’m a full-time blogger and musician, as well as, I guess, a full-time job seeker. Okay, so I guess you can’t have three full-time positions. You get my drift though. But, I think the biggest part of my delaying this seemingly inevitable post is that I’m not particularly enthusiastic about drumming up memories of November. I mean, I don’t want to…
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Happy Anniversary, and the Turning of the Corner
Four days ago was the first anniversary of my diagnosis of multiple myeloma, and I celebrated … by having a PET scan. It’s weird. We didn’t have a celebration planned. No cake. No nothing, really. Just another day – another day that ends in a ‘y.’ I can’t even remember what we had for dinner that night. And, that was kind of a mistake, because I probably could have used a little pick-me-up. I wouldn’t say I’ve been unhappy lately. I still enjoy days of smiles and laughs, and I’m blessed with supportive friends and a loving family. It’s just that I haven’t been my super positive self. There’s been…
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Hello Kitty, the Human Spirit, and Showing Cancer How We Do
Years ago, the buddies and I discussed the most ridiculous road trips imaginable. True boundary busters, like flying around the world for the weekend, showing up at work on Monday, and when somebody asked, “What did you do this weekend?,” responding with, “Well, me and the boys flew around the world, with pit stops in … .” We let the around-the-world-in-a-weekend trip idea slide, but we began to focus on another that fit the bill for ridiculousness – flying to Australia for a concert. Just a concert. Fly “down under,” hit the gig and fly back. We joked about how we’d be cocktailing at SFO ahead of time, then hopping…
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A Beginner’s Guide to Dealing with Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea
The reason I started this blog site was to not only document my story of living with multiple myeloma, but also hopefully create a set of resources for others who become diagnosed with multiple myeloma – letting them know they’re not alone, that others are experiencing the same (or at least similar) situations, and hopefully providing some insights into how to approach and deal with all that might be forthcoming (or even informing them of stuff they don’t know might be forthcoming). To that end, today, I want to talk about chemotherapy and a very common side effect, nausea. During my six months of induction treatment after being diagnosed with…
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Start Spreading the News (aka, Say It Ain’t So)
As troublesome as receiving a diagnosis of a serious health challenge is informing those close to you – family, friends, co-workers and the rest of your professional and personal social networks. It’s something I found to be not particularly easy. Actually, not easy at all. Okay, in truth, it was really difficult, especially at the start. I was lucky in the fact that my wife Lori was, and still is, beside me at every doctor’s appointment. She heard the words the same time I did, so I didn’t have to tell her. Thankfully, that extraordinarily difficult conversation never had to take place. But, I had to let others know, and…
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Getting Proactive & Into the Fight
Getting to a final diagnosis on my multiple myeloma took some time, and it’s time that weighed heavily on me. I had plenty to think about, and after a short while, it was, “”What am I going to do about this? I’ve always been one to be proactive and accountable. I’d rather be doing than being done upon, and I sought an opportunity to take back a bit of control, as I was beginning to feel a bit helpless. The journey to diagnosis felt like jumping through a lot of hoops. Many different doctor appointments, many different needles drawing blood, appointments for scans and biopsies. Cancer was dictating my days,…
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A New Beginning
D-Day, my diagnosis day, was March 11, 2019, just 19 days before my 55th birthday. It was the day everything changed, when I went from a ‘normal’ guy to a guy with a new normal, and the very narrative of my life changed dramatically. It was a slow work up to a final diagnosis, and my story started to change in my head in the several weeks leading up to March 11. But, to get there, I have to go back even further. Twenty-five years ago, my feet and knees began to tell me that I needed an exercise regimen that didn’t include running, so, like many others, I got…