Kelly Diaz ~ MyTPen
My Journey with Multiple Myeloma
Welcome to MyTPen, where you will find poetry, essays, and a personal account
of what it's like to go through treatment for Multiple Myeloma.


Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-Cell Therapy
UPDATE: Our return to Houston has been postponed until 9 September. I will be undergoing additional chemotherapy through the last week...

Just Some Pics - Apheresis Day 2025
The Apheresis Machine The Central Venous Access Device (CVAD) placed in my neck for the apheresis Getting ready for apheresis Under...

Breaking Therapy
This relapse truly hit me like a ton of bricks. I have so many thoughts to share.

Fragile
Last night I had a tornado dream… the first one in a long, long time. Tornadoes are one of two recurring themes for me. The other...

Relapse
Well, the unthinkable has happened. I must admit I had not really considered it possible. I've been doing so well since the stem cell...

Exploring Treatment Options: Navigating the Path with Multiple Myeloma
It's hard to believe it's been more than a year since I last wrote. It wasn't due to having nothing to say. On the contrary, a draft is...

Waiting for the Sunshine
We've been stuck in a cold, rainy weather pattern for several days now. The kind that hangs a curtain of humidity in the air so heavy...

What Are the Long Term Goals of the Democrat Party?
Thank you for saving everyone the time of watching MSNBC. I think you hit all the talking points. You are absolutely right about the long...

Cat Musings - The Story of Fynn - Part III
It is impossible for a lover of cats to banish these alert, gentle, and discriminating friends, who give us just enough of their regard...

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 f

Cat Musings - The Story of Fynn - Part II
A man’s treatment of a dog is no indication of the man’s nature, but his treatment of a cat is. It is the crucial test. None but the...

Cat Musings – The Story of Fynn - Part I
“If you would know a man, observe how he treats a cat.” Robert A. Heinlein Part I - Forest Clouds drifted slowly across the moon and the...

The Least of These
Intertwined with the tropical beauty around us and the gracious hospitality of our hosts, there were constant reminders of the...

He's Gone Again
There is an abiding comfort a mother feels in those moments when she knows her child is safe and snug in his bed. That he is no longer a little boy has no relevance. Keifer moved out a week ago. He is sharing an apartment 30 miles away with a friend. This time around, he was with me for two years, since just around the time of my multiple myeloma diagnosis. He had lost his previous residence because the owner decided to move his elderly mother into the house so he could ca

Getting Old is Not for Sissies
It’s been a busy time for medical appointments and some time since I wrote an update. The title of this post is from a quote attributed...

How Would You Define Your Faith?
On a recent trip to Oklahoma City to visit and provide support to my elderly father, I had the always joyful opportunity to get together with some old and dear friends. Yes, “old” because nearly all of us have reached our sixth decade of living, which arguably isn’t old, by the way, and “old” because some of us have known each other literally for as long as we can remember. We met at a local restaurant, Hefner Grill, a personal favorite of mine, situated on the banks of Lake

Cat Musings – Why the Struggle is Worth the Reward
". . . I would see him on the catio as he darted around, crouched low to the ground as though an unseen enemy was stalking him." ...

Moral Confusion ~ A Descent Into Insanity
I nteresting thing happened in the adjoining waiting rooms between the Infusion Suite and the doctors' offices at The Woodlands on 16...

Quote
Romans 8:38-39
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min





















