Wednesday evening I attended my local multiple myeloma support group’s monthly meeting.

One more review of last December’s ASH in San Diego.

Yesterday I noted how “my peripheral neuropathy (PN) is off-the-charts lately.”

That’s right.  Every cancer clinic of any size should help promote and sponsor a multiple myeloma support group.  Every one.

I’m home from the hospital, feeling better and settling-in for what I hope turns-out to be a great 2012.

While I was in San Diego at ASH, I covered an IMF activist training meeting.

If your read Friday’s post about my emotional evening at the IMF’s International Jounalist event last week, you will probably recall how my roller-coaster “crashed down” after hearing about an unexpectedly short, 8 month overall survival (OS) benefit from using pomalidomid and dexamethasone after patients became refractory to Revlimid and Velcade.

Yes, I’ve been busy!

I attended a meeting this afternoon sponsored by the IMF.   The topic: Making sure that sub-q and oral cancer medications are covered  by Medicare and private insurance in the same way that intravenously infused medications are.

The IMF will be featuring a pre-ASH kick-off event the Friday evening before ASH in San Diego.

Did I happen to mention that I will be doing freelance writing for the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) at this year’s ASH meetings in San Diego?

The International Myeloma Foundation’s Robin Tuohy, recently shared a list of code words/interpretations that you might find on your prescription script or bottle on her blog, Robin’s Myeloma Care.  I wanted to share them with you here, too…

Last week I received this email from a reader with an interesting question:

Millennium, makers of Velcade, have launched a fundraising campain for the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF), called 1000 CRANES OF HOPE.

Monday I started a series about sources of patient financial aid.

Wednesday, the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) hosted a private conference call.

The last couple of days, two of my readers have shared their frustrations with the slow pace of myeloma research.

Yesterday’s post from Thomas in Germany resonated with another of our regular, international readers, Hanna from Toronto.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) was formed to provide state-of-the-art cancer treatment information in easy-to-understand language for patients and caregivers. The NCCN Guidelines for Patients™, based on the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines™), are designed to help you when you talk with your doctor about treatment options.

The past two weeks have been all about multiple myeloma related research, FDA approvals and hope.  Not so much about hope for a cure—we all want that!