That’s exactly what a dear friend of mine (whom I met via my blog many years ago, by the way) wrote to me after learning the news about Stefano’s uncle.

Now, as you read this post, please keep in mind that Stefano’s uncle and I are NOT related by blood. He is Italian; I am U.S. There is no Italian blood in me at all, as far as I know. So this is definitely NOT a case of familial myeloma or of familial predisposition to myeloma.

It’s just a…weird…uncanny…coincidence. I mean, of ALL the cancers…??? Puzzling.

Okay, here’s the story…or rather, the basic summary of a very long story:

Last month, while Stefano and I were still visiting my parents in the U.S., we received an email from one of Stefano’s cousins, informing us that his father (that is, Stefano’s uncle) had just been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, the light chain type. You can imagine our reaction…

After taking a look at the uncle’s results, I realized that he must be in stage III (this was later confirmed by the MM specialist, see below). His level of Bence Jones protein was very high – more than 10 grams. Other important indications: quite a bit of anemia and high-ish creatinine. And yet, incredibly, the uncle has NO SYMPTOMS. Nothing. He’s very active, never gets tired, etc.

Myeloma is a sneaky beast, isn’t it?

The uncle’s hematologist had wanted to start him immediately (in August, that is) on the VTD protocol (the acronym stands for Velcade, Thalidomide, Dexamethasone), but, after what we had both learned from my own experience back in 2005, Stefano and I thought that the uncle should get a second opinion. I also didn’t care for the fact that some of the crucial tests for myeloma were missing — skeletal survey, C-reactive protein, and Beta-2 microglobulin, to mention the main ones. So we suggested that he make an appointment with the internationally well-known and respected Italian myeloma specialist that I myself had seen in 2005, when I knew almost nothing about multiple myeloma. The uncle and his family agreed.

And so last Wednesday Stefano and I accompanied his uncle, aunt and cousin to a big city in Northern Italy, where we spent about an hour with the myeloma specialist. Stefano’s aunt told the specialist what had happened, how the uncle had begun having mild anemia in 2009 for which he was given folic acid (folic acid? Interesting…must check that out…).

She said that in June 2014 the thing sort of “exploded” by pure chance, when the uncle went to the dentist for an unrelated problem, and the dentist recommended that he have some blood work done. That is when the Bence Jones protein problem was discovered, and the uncle was sent to a hematologist. I don’t know why it then took more than a month for the hematologist to come up with the myeloma diagnosis, but…whatever.

Well, the Northern Italian specialist confirmed my suspicion — that the uncle was in stage III (in spite of the missing pieces of the puzzle that I mentioned above). And he said that VTD was the correct treatment…to be followed by an autologous stem cell transplant.

Stefano’s aunt said that her husband was already taking curcumin and asked if he could continue doing so during the VTD treatment. The specialist didn’t roll his eyes or ask what the heck curcumin was (which indicates that this isn’t the first time he’s heard about curcumin), but merely indicated that it wouldn’t hurt, although it probably wouldn’t help, either. Bah humbug. But I remained silent…no point in getting involved in a useless debate…

After the aunt had run out of questions, I piped up and asked the specialist something (I forget what, exactly)…something that evidently surprised him enough to ask me: “you’re an M.D., aren’t you?”

An M.D.? Moi?

No, I’m not kidding (and I have witnesses, too). 😉

I laughed and said no, I wasn’t, adding that he probably didn’t remember me, but that I had seen him as a patient in 2005, that I was still smoldering, hadn’t had any conventional treatments, etc. I told him that I have been taking curcumin since January 2006 and was doing very well, as he could see. And that I had a blog detailing my own personal experience with curcumin, mainly…

He and I then had an exchange about possible alternative therapies and other drugs and whatnot…I asked a bunch of questions, and the aunt asked some, too. In the end, though, it all came back to the old VTD treatment. This sort of induction therapy leads to an autologous stem cell transplant. The uncle has almost reached the age where he won’t be eligible for a transplant…so we’ll have to see what happens and how he is doing 4 months from now.

I’m very hopeful, I must say. The uncle is in good physical and mental shape. Most importantly, he will be taking curcumin.

Besides, as the MM specialist told the uncle at one point: “you’re more likely to die of a heart attack than of myeloma.”

That’s comforting.

The Parco della Piana is one of the very few bird reserves in the province of Florence (in my opinion, it is also the best, by far!). Many different bird species go through their annual courtship rituals, build their nests and raise their young on the shores or little islands of this reserve’s lakes…I’m talking about the elegant black-winged stilts, herons and ducks of all sorts, kingfishers, bitterns, little grebes, great-crested grebes, coots and others. And finally, many other bird species live at the Parco della Piana year round or stop there to rest and fill their beaks on their way north or south, depending on the season. A partial list includes woodpeckers, warblers, swallows, least flycatchers, snipes, egrets, pheasants, hawks, pied flycatchers, nightingales, great tits, wrynecks, spoonbills, the occasional flamingo or two…and many others, of course…

In short, the Parco della Piana bird reserve, located in the municipality of Sesto Fiorentino just outside of Florence, provides a lovely, peaceful and biodiverse habitat for many species…oh, and not just for birds but also for hares, frogs, butterflies, turtles, weird-looking dragonflies, etc. It is a haven that gives much joy to those of us who go there as often as possible…There is even a family picnic area with a barbecue…

Speaking of families, it’s free to the public.

But time is running out for the Parco della Piana. Why? Because of an unnecessary runway. Yes, a stupid runway.

The airport in Florence was built in the 1930s, and since then various attempts have been made to expand it. Some of the runways have been extended to a certain degree, but the problem is that the airport is located in the middle of the crowded province of Florence, which includes various municipalities such as Prato and Campi Bisenzio. Between the human communities AND the hills and mountains that surround Florence, there is really no space where longer runways can be built…

With one possible exception: in the direction of, and on top of!, the Parco della Piana bird reserve, which is close to the A11 (Florence-Pisa) highway…

And so, in July 2014, the Regional Council of Tuscany voted in favor of building a new, 2,000-meter-long runway that would run parallel to  the A11 highway…in spite of the outcry and protests from entire communities whose lives would be disrupted by the noise and pollution that a new runway entails…

But this project goes beyond noise, disruption and pollution. The building of a new runway at the airport of Florence makes NO SENSE AT ALL. The obvious and sensible alternative would instead be to improve the train service between the cities of Florence and Pisa. Pisa, you see, already HAS an International Airport – a mere hour’s drive/ride from Florence. And even now there are trains that shuttle passengers from the train station in Florence directly to the international airport in Pisa. Stefano and I have made that short trip many times, luggage and all. Easy peasy. 

Furthermore, the price of improving the above-mentioned Florence-Pisa transportation system would be nickels and dimes compared to the outrageous costs of building a new runway here in Florence.

But I don’t want to go on and on about the greed, stupidity and nearsightedness of those who voted for the new runway…or even attempt to prove my point that Tuscany doesn’t need more than ONE international airport (that much is obvious).

My purpose in writing this post is to make an appeal to those of you who enjoy bird watching or care about nature in general. Please help me take action. And while I try to come up with more ideas on what to do to save our precious bird reserve, here is a list of things that you can do RIGHT NOW to show your support:

1. If you are a member of Facebook, please join the Parco della Piana bird reserve’s Page, titled “Gli amici del Parco della Piana di Sesto F.no (ANPIL Podere la Querciola”). Here is the direct link to the reserve’s Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/102148033156668/ Note: many of the reserve’s bird watchers/photographers post their beautiful photos (all taken at the reserve, of course) on this Page, so it doesn’t matter if you don’t know any Italian. You can still enjoy and “like” the photos, and you can also leave comments in your native language.
2. As a member of Facebook, you can also join the group “Piana Sana,” which translates as “Healthy Piana,” founded by concerned Tuscan citizens who oppose the new runway project: https://www.facebook.com/pianasana/timeline The interactive maps posted on this Page show clearly that the new runway goes right over our bird reserve. 
3. The next time you plan to visit Florence, please think about spending a few hours at the Parco della Piana. It’s a peaceful place that can give you a bit of a rest from your hectic sightseeing in Florence, a place where you can sit and rest in one of the bird hides built around the reserve’s lakes and take photos of bird species that might be rare in your country. And here’s an ADDED BONUS: if you want directions to the park, get in touch with me…in fact, I will try to find the time to take you there, myself!  🙂
4. I just learned of a petition asking the Italian Minister of the Environment, Land, and Sea to designate an independent, experienced corporation to look into the environmental impact that the new runway would have on the entire area. You can sign the petition, too, at this link: http://goo.gl/yUp54E
5. Last but not least, please help me spread the word about the planned destruction of this precious habitat. Share my post on Facebook (etc.), ask your friends to join the above-mentioned groups, etc.

In conclusion, Florence doesn’t need a new 2,000-meter-long runway that will impact and disrupt so many lives – not just the lives of all the birds and animals that depend on this green area for their survival but also the lives of all the people who live in and around the area where the new runway would be built.

Perhaps we won’t be able to stop this outrage from happening, but we just can’t sit back and do nothing. It’s time to SAY NO TO THE NEW RUNWAY PROJECT. And in fact the number of people who oppose the project has been increasing…petitions have been circulating, etc.

So I believe it can be done. With your help, too!

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
[Margaret Mead]

Thank you for your support!!!

P.S. I took all these photos at the Parco della Piana reserve in different time periods/years…

I have a very efficient anti-spam program. It blocks all the stupid and at times irritating stuff that clogs (or tries to clog!) every single website/blog in the world, for reasons unknown to me.

But yesterday, as I was (by chance) skimming through the recent comments that had ended up in my blog’s endless spam folder, I realized that my Spambuster has perhaps been a tad too efficient. The spam folder included in fact a number of legitimate blog reader comments. Horror!

I don’t know why these particular comments were blocked by the Spambuster. In any event, I approved as many as I could, then got a bit overwhelmed and decided to post a quick note today on the blog…

From now on I will be checking the spam folder as often as possible, but I would like to ask for your collaboration in this, er, new task…as follows: if your comment doesn’t get published within a few days, please get in touch with me, and I will try to retrieve it from the Spambuster’s clutches.

Thank you! And…have a fabulous, fun-filled weekend, everyone! Ciao! 🙂

If you are taking Velcade (bortezomib), you HAVE TO read this abstract: http://goo.gl/DjYdVv

In a nutshell, dyclonine, one of the main ingredients of Sucrets (cough drops), increases the anti-MM effect of Velcade. It also “minimizes drug resistance in MM cells.” Now, there is a slight problem with this last statement: according to the Myeloma Beacon (see: http://goo.gl/x5IUXA), the minimization of drug resistance apparently occurs at higher doses than those that would be normally given to MM patients.

And another thing: we should also keep in mind that these are in vitro results…Dyclonine has been tested on a myeloma cell line, NOT on myeloma patients actually taking Velcade. So this is all preliminary stuff.

On the other hand, when I first began taking curcumin, there were only a couple of published studies on curcumin and myeloma…and, like this one, those studies were based on myeloma cell lines…

And look at me now, more than eight years later…

Well, in any event, I am always intrigued whenever I read about promising combinations of toxic and non-toxic compounds in the battle against myeloma.

Speaking of which, let’s not forget that curcumin is (among many other things!) a proteasome inhibitor, like Velcade. Combined with Velcade, curcumin has been shown to increase that drug’s ability to annihilate myeloma cells. Note: I’ve written about the curcumin-Velcade studies here on the blog, so you can look ’em up, if you want more info.

P.S. Many thanks to the Myeloma Beacon for alerting me to this new study. 🙂

Back in March (!), after receiving many reader queries about my current supplement regimen, I began writing a “supplement” post…But then, between one thing and another, I never finished it. Since then, though, I’ve received even MORE requests from even MORE readers on the same topic. So today I picked up my draft and finished it. Here goes, for what it’s worth…

Oh wait, first, I would like to note that I take only the C3 Complex curcumin, that is, the curcumin that has been used in all the MM, SMM and MGUS trials. I disregard and am suspicious of any and all brands that claim to have the highest curcumin bioavailability possible (these claims are usually based on company-sponsored studies, blablabla). With one possible exception: I am very curious to try the Meriva curcumin (but I have not, so far…some day, though…).

Point is: I take ONLY what has worked for me all these years, as follows.,..

1. Doctor’s Best C3 Complex curcumin, 500 mg capsules, with bioperine. My dose: four grams a day. I order it online from various sites (whichever one happens to be the cheapest, as long as it’s a reliable one…usually Amazon or Vitacost). If I run out of the 500 mg capsules, which I prefer for various reasons, I substitute them with the Doctor’s Best C3 Complex one-gram tablets (4 of these = 4 grams of curcumin, which is an advantage over the capsules, for sure).
2. Doctors Purest C3 Complex curcumin, 500 mg capsules. My dose: four grams a day. I order it from Ageless Cures. Important note: it doesn’t contain the black pepper extract (= bioperine).
3. This is sort of an aside, but I sometimes substitute the above type (point no.2) with Doctors Purest Boswellin + Curcumin (which I order from the same site, Ageless Cures), which does contain bioperine. However, in addition to performing other good deeds, boswellic acid has been shown to block one of myeloma’s main survival pathways (STAT3) — you can do a search of my blog for more information on boswellic acid. So I figure that boswellin plus curcumin should be a double whammy for my myeloma cells. [Yeah, I know, it’s bloody expensive…but each caplet contains 700 mg of C3 Complex curcumin, so you don’t need as many of these caplets to reach your daily goal.]
4. Vitacost’s quercetin with bromelain, 250 capsules. My dose: one and a half grams a day. If you buy this brand and decide to take the dose I take, all you need are six capsules a day.
5. I also plan to resume taking fish oil. Soon. I take the Vitacost brand, the Mega EFA and DHA “softgel” type. I stopped taking it simply because I ran out of it, but I now have a new bottle. And I also plan to resume taking ashwagandha as soon as my current experiment — see below — ends.

*Note: I’ve also tested Vitacost’s NSI curcumin, the one with C3 Complex, with bioperine. As I recall, the NSI capsules were a bit larger than the Doctor’s Best ones, and they had a bit of a stronger scent, so I stopped taking them. If those two things don’t bother you, though, then go right ahead. And perhaps they have improved, over the years.

Current test: Nutrigold’s Guggul Gold, 350 mg per capsule…I am taking the recommended dose on the bottle. You can order it from various online sources. This is a test, of course, so if it doesn’t work, I won’t be taking it again.

To sum things up: I take EIGHT grams of curcumin a day…4 grams with bioperine, 4 without bioperine (unless I am taking the boswellin-curcumin-bioperine caplets, of course).

I have a final disclaimer: I am not connected in any way, financial or otherwise, to any of these brands or companies (or to ANY brands or companies at all, for that matter). During my blogging career, I have received “freebie” offers for this and that supplement, that is true…but I ignore them or turn them down on this basis: if I can’t afford it, I won’t take it. Perhaps I’m being silly, but that’s my policy. I like my independence!

Okay. I think that’s about it, folks! 🙂

On Tuesday, when Stefano and I returned to Florence (after spending a couple of weeks with my parents in Massachusetts), I found almost 2,000 unread e-mails in my mailbox. An impossible number, yes, but it includes some old stuff, too, such as unopened newsletters and Google Alerts and also messages I just haven’t had the time to read. However, it also includes a whole bunch of new blog reader queries, some of which I feel I simply cannot or indeed should not answer…

So this morning I began thinking about what to do. And I was faced with my eternal dilemma: time. Simply put, should I take the time to answer each and every e-mail, or should I spend that time doing something else, such as reading a study I should have read and posted about months ago? I think the choice is clear…

It hasn’t been easy to reach a decision, since I am a very nice and polite person in real life and like to be nice and polite to everyone, but here is what I have decided to do…now and in the future:

1. If you have asked any sort of medical-related question, you will (probably) not receive a reply from me. It would simply not be right for me to give out medical advice, especially concerning conditions I know very little about, such as Crohn’s Disease.
2. If you have asked a question that has already been answered here on my blog, or that would be easily answered by (your) doing a brief search online, you will (probably) not receive a reply from me.
3. Unless I manage to catch up with those 2,000 unopened e-mails, that is. 😉

HINT: a very useful tool is my blog’s “Search” box. Just type your query inside the box (upper right-hand side of the blog) and press Enter. You may not find what you are looking for, but it’s worth a try. I confess that I use this tool, too, at times. I did so just this morning, in fact, to find the “study” on curcumin by Vermorken et al, a study that enraged me a couple of years ago.

Another useful tool is PubMed:, which you can find at this link http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed Again, you can type your query inside the Search box at the top of the page…for instance, type the words “curcumin Crohn’s Disease,” and you will find 28 studies. I use PubMed a lot.

If you are thinking of taking curcumin for the first time, please check out my blog Page on curcumin’s side effects, including warnings (who shouldn’t take it, etc.)…And also my protocol Page. As you scroll down my homepage, look on the right, where all my Pages are…

Sorry if this sounds harsh…but I really hope you all understand! Thank you! 🙂

When I was a kid, getting on a plane and flying somewhere was one of the most exciting things ever. My family and I didn’t do much flying back then, mind you, but we did occasionally return to the States to visit the relatives (grandparents, e.g.) we’d left behind when we moved to Italy (see *Note below for more info). 

I grew out of my childhood enthusiasm for flying by the time I hit my 20s, almost as soon as I realized that, as Louis CK puts it, I was “sitting in a chair in the sky.” I know, I know, I know, statistically it is more dangerous for me to be sitting right here at my desk than to be sitting on a plane…and yes, yes, yes, statistically it is the safest way to travel. I am well aware of all that. But I think we would all agree that there is something a bit freaky about “sitting in a chair in the sky”…And so I went through a long period during which I was a bit of a nervous, sweating wreck at the slightest sign of turbulence…

Everything changed when I was diagnosed with myeloma (well, with smoldering/inactive myeloma). My fear of flying disappeared. Yep, just like that. How could I be scared of flying when I am carrying around a bunch of lethal cancer cells inside my body?

Myeloma trumps fear of flying any day. 

But not yesterday. 

Yesterday’s flight between Boston and Munich went fairly smoothly…no problems to report. But then we got on our Munich-Florence flight and…well…mamma mia...

The pilot announced that it was overcast in Florence…but he didn’t mention the high winds that plagued most of our flight (the turbulence varied between “acceptable bumpy” and “bloody effing scary bumpy”)…The strong gusts of wind pushing on the left side of the plane (seriously, you could really feel ’em pushing the plane to the right) seemed to want to blow us out of the sky as we were descending from the clouds towards Florence. I’ve never felt wind like that, not even when I landed once during a snow storm in Toronto, Canada. Yikes. And so, yes, yesterday I experienced a shadow of my former fear of flying…

And then we landed with a huge BOOOOOM and then a bit of veering and shaking that took everyone’s breath away…

But hey, we landed. 

And Stefano and I are so happy to be with our beloved kitties again. 🙂

I will rest for the next few dayszzzzzz (I already have plans for a get-together with friends tomorrow, yaaaay), then I’ll take a look at some of the studies that have piled up on my desktop…I really must do something about my poor, dear and verrrrry neglected blog! 

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these photos, which I took on the island of Nantucket where Stefano and I spent three lovely days between August 12 and August 15. We rented a jeep for a 48-hour period ( = outraaaaaageously expensive, but in the end we were glad we’d done it) and, among other things, drove on Great Point Beach all the way out to the lighthouse, where we spent hours watching and photographing seals, but mostly sea birds — terns, seagulls and sandpipers…also, a cute oystercatcher (= the black and white bird with the long, bright orange beak digging into the sand) and a few ruddy turnstones (gee wiz, WHO comes up with these bird names??? 😉 )… 

Quick memo/bit of advice: always put on sunblock BEFORE getting distracted by the local fauna, not AFTER…Wow, ouch, what a sunburn we both got…

Okay, I have to go get the laundry off the line now, so I’d better get off the computer. Take care, everyone! Ciao! 🙂 

[*Note: I was just a kid — six years old — when my family moved here from Massachusetts, U.S.A. So, while I am a U.S. citizen (and, now that I am married to an Italian citizen, also a permanent resident of Italy), I grew up here in Florence, where I went through the tough but very good Italian public school system, all the way through high school and 1.5 years of university. When Mom and Dad moved back to the U.S. in the early 1980s, I went with them and finished college and then grad school in North America.]

Before writing anything else, I wanted to celebrate my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary with all of you. I mean…SIXTY YEARS!!! Isn’t that something??? 🙂 And my parents are still crazy about each other and hold hands and…well, you get the picture. They are very cute together. Sooo, what else can I say but:

CONGRATULATIONS and MUCH MUCH LOVE!!!!!!!! 🙂

I’m sorry that Stefano and I are not going to be there to celebrate this important date today, BUT…guess what?…he and I will be there — there = Cape Cod! — tomorrow night (!), so we will definitely break out the (Italian) bubbly and raise a glass to these amazing parents of mine…

Ah yes, we’re leaving Florence AGAIN. It seems as though we’ve been flying nonstop all over the place lately…

But if I don’t get packed, we’re not going to go anywhere tomorrow, so I really have to get off the computer now. 😉

Take care, everyone! CIao!!!!!

I took almost 3000 photos of puffins, razorbills, guillemots, gannets, and other bird species while we were on Skokholm Island in Wales (the first photo gives a view of part of the island) early last month (boy, time does fly!)…I’ve been going through them slowly in my free time, but right now I’m too busy (with life and work and FUN of course!) to finish this task…

Here, therefore, is a limited and rather random selection of my photos. As you know by now, I don’t take or post perfect photos…in fact, I don’t think my current camera (which is not a bad camera, mind you) is even able to take any perfect photos. 😉

But that doesn’t really matter to me. I don’t want or need to be a professional photographer. What matters to me is to be reminded of a particular moment during a particular trip or event. And so I sometimes don’t even delete photos that are clearly out of focus — photos that my Stefano would delete in the blink of an eye.

No, what counts for me, unprofessional me, is the moment in which I took a certain photo. Or the photo has to be high on my “cuteness scale,” like the photo (second from above) of the three puffins hiding in the grass, one of my favorites so far…Or the one of the puffin (below, on the left) pecking another puffin that needed to be shooed away from its burrow…Or the baby guillemot with its cute little tilted head (next to last photo, below)…who seems to be looking at us almost quizzically.

Anyway, without further ado, here is my random selection! 

I hope you enjoy it!

Oh, and I bet you’re glad I decided NOT to publish all 3000 photos, eh?   😀  (By the way, if you don’t know the names of some of these sea birds, other than the puffins of course!, just hover over the photos for a sec…)