i talked to a doctor at mayo clinic, he said you've got to do stem cells and ken anderson said we can beat this with drugs so i decided to go with ken and it worked. >> rose: you both talked to people who had it work and not work. >> that's something i learned. i tell folks now there was a time when you would go online and get a tsunami of information and you didn't know what to trust. now all the major healthcare systems have terrific web sites mayo clinic, johns hopkins, cleveland clinic, m.d. anderson and you can go on and they say, here's what's going on in multiple myeloma so you can inform yourself. >> rose: so the emotional side of this, i would assume, knowing you, the last thing you ever wanted is to have someone say, poor tom, cancer victim. >> yeah, that's why i kept it secret, quite honestly. i didn't want to show up on the internet, tom brokaw, cancer victim and everybody looking at me saying, i think he's going to die. >> rose: it's an interesting phenomenon because, as you know, while you were on your back here in new york, you wrote me this lovely note because you have

ken anderson of dana farber cancer center in boston, he agreed to consult with my medical team by phonenowned expert in multiple myeloma, he recommended we add another thalidomide offshoot to my regimen -- a drug called velcade. one of the many recent advances in the treatment of this disease. >> i think the progress that has already happened in myeloma has been palpable. we have 11 new treatments in the last ten to 15 years, and people are living three to four times longer than they were just a short time ago. >> dr. anderson had treated another high-profile myeloma patient -- the first woman nominated by a major party for vice president, geraldine ferraro. she survived for thirteen years after her diagnosis, beating the odds at that time as a patient. i began to think about other myeloma patients i had known -- frank reynolds of abc news, a predecessor on the "today show," frank mcgee of nbc news, the actor peter boyle. but multiple myeloma seems to strike some groups more than others. especially african americans. >> 115 over 76. >> in 2007, nbc news reported on the tragic story of p

ken anderson said we could beat this. charlie: you and i both know people with at work and not work. tom: that is something i learned that i tell folks now, there was a time when you would go on line and get this tsunami of information. now all of these sites cleveland clinic, johns hopkins -- you can go on and say, here is what is going on and you can inform yourself. charlie: the emotional side knowing you, the last thing you wanted was to have someone say poor tom the cancer victim. tom: i didn't want to show up, tom brokaw cancer victim. charlie: it is an interesting phenomenon. as you know, while you were on your back, you wrote this lovely note because you and watchhad watched a fair amount of television. i was flattered, one of the most flattering things that ever seen. i called you up. brokaw, what is going on? that is when you told me. i then found out -- charlie: we were close enough, i thought you deserved to know. i did not want to be stung when you read about. we are all part of the nora ephron circle, she ke

ken anderson from dana farber. she'd be on the phone and they twinned up.- physicians speak the same language and know the culture. that can be helpful. it's not somebody that you pay could you hire, or anything. it's go out and find someone. and that's the important thing for families. >> you talk about your family and obviously they were enormously helpful. and i wonder, though how you balanced that as a father and a husband. wanting to protect your family as patients sometimes do from the diagnosis, from the procedures that lie ahead. it's a little tough, isn't it, to decide whether to let -- when to let them in or keep them out. what would you recommend? >> i think family conference. bring them in at the same time, and jenny, the doctor would say, assign roles, assign time roles. she believed strongly in that and preparing for end-of-life issues, for example people afflicted with dementia. you know it can't just fall to one person to be the caregiver. this is a family thing that you've got to do a whole culture of that that is important. in our case, fo

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