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So, you want to do something for me?
Throughout my fight with multiple myeloma, from the very beginning with my diagnosis, I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of love and support thrown our way by our friends and family. It’s incredibly humbling to be included in prayers, and to receive numerous messages checking on our wellbeing, Lori’s and the kids’ too. I’m extraordinarily grateful for everything. Thank you, everyone, for all your kind words, encouragement, support and love. As I’m writing this, I’m halfway through the stem cell transplant process, and I can tell you, we’ve also enjoyed quite a number of meals prepared by others. It’s been so helpful to not have to go to the store…
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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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To Weed or Not to Weed, That is the Question
When it comes to cancer treatments, there are a great many theories and an abundance of opinions about options, from pharmaceuticals to nutraceuticals and most anything in-between. There’s an enormous number of different cancers out there, and each and every patient has a unique circumstance – his or her own body. Despite all the research over the past century, treating cancer is still only part science, and a great deal part art. With multiple myeloma, the induction treatment is pretty cut and dried, black and white. The standard is pretty much the “RVD” regimen – Revlimid, Velcade and the steroid dexamethasone. For patients, the only real decision is to either…
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Redefining “Game Day” & “Fight Night”
The medical fight against multiple myeloma, at least initially, is pretty standard and cut and dried. In short form, it’s the “RVD” treatment. ‘R’ is for Revlimid, a once-a-day tablet taken in a cycle of three weeks on, one week off. The ‘V’ is for Velcade, a once-weekly injection given in the abdomen. The ‘D’ is for Dexamethasone, a steroid taken once a week. Then, because of all the potential side effects, and there are a whole host of potential side effects, there’s a bunch of other prescription drugs to take to keep one ready and able to take the real cancer-fighters. This induction treatment was prescribed right off the…
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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…