On MS Novels and Novel Treatments
In Robert Douglas-Fairhurst’s 2023 memoir, Metamorphosis, I came across an extensive reading list of multiple sclerosis novels. The Oxford professor of literature and professional researcher, after receiving his own MS diagnosis, executed a comprehensive search of published stories about the disease, determining that “it turns out there’s a sizeable subgenre of novels in which a character with MS takes centre stage.” I’ve been effectuating my own foray into MS memoirs, but Do
Anne Mason
Jun 29
And So, It Goes
June (my birthday month) 2026 marks thirty months since my Car T Cell procedure. The numbers/results from my blood draw this month indicated nothing, which is very much desired when you are managing Multiple Myeloma (MM). Numbers are holding steady. No changes. And thus, it was again decided that two months would pass before the next draw (August 2026) would be taken. This month, I reached the age of seventy. I write that line with a tremendous sense of awe - not about myself
Mark Pajak
Jun 29
On Stepping Forward
There are, in my wardrobe, four folded cotton t-shirts of bright green, neon orange, and crisp white, acquired from four subsequent years of walking for advocacy, stepping in pursuit of a cure for multiple sclerosis. I participated in my first Walk MS in the spring of 2014. Having been diagnosed with MS a couple of months earlier, my blood coursed with rage and denial, prompting me to run—and even, at times, sprint—the outdoor route of five kilometers in solitude. I refused t
Anne Mason
May 26
In Need of ….?
Hard to believe it is already near the end of May 2026. It has been said that the older you get the faster time flies. Amen to that. It has been 29 months since my Car T cell procedure (December 2023) and I am holding steady. No blood draw was required in May. Does that mean that all is fine? Well, who knows? The reality is that after over eleven plus years of living with Multiple Myeloma I am not sure what “all is fine” looks like. This Multiple Myeloma journey has presented
Mark Pajak
May 26
On Fraud and Faring in a Storm
I fell victim to a spoofing scam last week. It is not something I am proud of—in fact, I feel incredibly foolish about the whole ordeal. But, after an unhealthy dose of psychological battering and self-admonishment, I was able to take a step back and examine the events that led to my hoodwinking. To start, the circumstances were primed. The days leading up to the fraudulent debacle were packed with stressors: hosting out-of-town guests, sprinting towards opening night of a pl
Anne Mason
Apr 28
