WHAT EXACTLY am I smiling about?

For a year or so I’ve been battling a pretty scary cancer, called Multiple Myeloma, which affects the blood plasma cells that are created in the bone marrow. So far, I’ve done OK, with few perceptible symptoms, and fairly tolerable side effects from the chemo drugs.

On a daily basis, I confront a surreal circumstance, where my state of health is determined by test results on a sheet of paper. My medical team tells me I have improved significantly and that my prospects are quite good.

I’ll be dealing with Myeloma for the rest of my life. There’s a good chance that will be quite a long time — measured in years or even decades — if I stick to the program and get a little lucky. New, more targeted treatment options keep arriving too, so the outlook may actually improve over time.

Sharing this journey helps me in a number of ways. I’ve been a writer since I was 6 years old, so it feels natural to put it into a journal. I want to keep people I care about informed, but I don’t ever want to resort to social media to do that. If you choose to comment here, it stays here.

I really do have a great deal to smile about. Great friends all over the country. A loving family and a wonderful wife. A professional persona cultivated over three decades. I seem to have one of the worst possible illnesses in the best possible way.

There is, and will be, a lot to say.

NEXT: A Minor in Poly Cy

©2014 James Tenser