A Note to Keep in Touch

A few friends have inquired about me via email or text – thank you! – so I thought I would write a quick update and send a selfie or two. I am not now nor have I ever been photogenic, which is why I don’t post pics of myself very often…even less now with my unruly locks. Make no mistake: I am eternally grateful to have a head of thick hair. But the curls have definitely taken time to get used to. It's getting long! Eventually I’m going to have to get it cut…or something.

As for my health, I continue in remission, although with multiple myeloma, remission doesn’t mean quite the same thing as with other cancers. I’ve included a brief article that describes it pretty well, if you’d care to read it.

Overall, I feel pretty good most days, but like so many of you, I deal with pain pretty much on a daily basis. Some of it I attribute to my cancer treatments. The neuropathy, for example, that mostly keeps me from getting a good night’s sleep, but also makes everyday chores difficult. Some pain I feel is simply due to the onset of typical ailments, like osteoarthritis, that come with age. In the back of my mind, there is the lingering thought that my remission is likely temporary. This generally well-read, knowledgeable woman admittedly has not researched treatment options if that should happen; she just knows another bone marrow transplant is not one of them. I asked Dr. Joudeh about that on one of my monthly appointments not long ago, and he said, “Only eight percent of patients survive a second transplant.” Those are terrible odds. At some point, I will research my options because I don’t want to be caught unprepared.

In the meantime, I shall do my best to live a healthy lifestyle, which includes good humor

and laughter, a tip I learned from my mother during the years she battled breast cancer. The best funnies I find, I send to my sister so she can laugh too. The humor somehow bridges the miles for me, and I feel the moment of joy all over again when she responds with a “Ha-ha!” or a “That’s a good one!” Some of those reading this brief update do the same with me, and my spirit is buoyed every time I see your messages.

May God bless you in your daily walk with whatever hidden burdens you may carry.